India to expel Pakistan embassy staffer for 'espionage'

According to reports, Mohammed Akhtar was in possession of highly classified documents related to the Indian army

India will expel a Pakistani visa official for "espionage activities", the foreign ministry said Thursday, with tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours already running high.

India's foreign secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar summoned Pakistan's high commissioner to inform him of the decision to expel the consular official, who was briefly detained on Wednesday.



"FS (foreign secretary) summons Pak High Commissioner to convey that Pak High Commission staffer has been declared persona non grata for espionage activities," Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on Twitter.

FS summons Pak High Commissioner to convey that Pak High Commission staffer has been declared persona non grata for espionage activities

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 27, 2016

Delhi police said the man was caught on Wednesday outside the gates to Delhi Zoo, where he had met two Indian associates police believe he had recruited to spy for him.

The Indians and the diplomat, who reportedly worked in Pakistan High Commission's visa section, were found with forged documents, as well as defence-related maps, deployment charts and lists of officers working along India's border with Pakistan, police said in a statement.

Tensions between India and Pakistan have soared since a raid last month on an Indian army base in Indian-occupied Kashmir killed 19 soldiers, the worst such attack in years.



Delhi police crime commissioner Ravindra Yadav said the official had been detained on Wednesday with defence and other documents in his possession. The documents included information on deployment of India's border security forces, Yadav told a press conference.

A Pakistani diplomatic source said the visa official, named as Mehmood Akhtar, had been given 48 hours to leave the country. Pakistan's High Commissioner Abdul Basit lodged a "strong protest" with the Indian foreign ministry and said the detention contravened diplomatic conventions, the source said.

"Pakistan never engages in activity that is incompatible with its diplomatic status," he said.

Pakistan condemns Indian action of declaring Pakistan High Commission Staff member as Persona Non Grata (PNG)

"Pakistan has rejected Indian allegations and deplored the Indian action which was indeed a violation of the Vienna Convention as well as the norms of diplomatic conduct especially in an already vitiated atmosphere," Foreign Office said in a statement.

"Pakistan High Commission has always been working within the parameters of international law and diplomatic norms. This act clearly reflects Indian actions to shrink diplomatic space for the working of Pakistan High Commission. India's attempts to escalate tensions and divert attention of the international community from the issue of human rights violations by Indian forces in IOK can never succeed. Pakistan urges the international community to take notice of the Indian designs," the statement added.

Pakistan declares Indian 'Persona non Grata'

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office declared Surjeet Singh, an official of the Indian High Commission, as persona non grata.

“The foreign secretary summoned the Indian high commissioner today (27 October 2016) and conveyed the decision,” said the Foreign Office in a statement. “The foreign secretary expressed deep concern over the activities of the Indian official that were in violation of the Vienna Convention and the established diplomatic norms.”