The action came amid heightened tension between the two countries.
Credit: Reuters Photo
New Delhi: India on Tuesday expelled an official of the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi for his involvement in an espionage racket.
The involvement of the official of Islamabad’s diplomatic mission in New Delhi came to light after the police recently arrested a man and a woman at Malerkotla in Punjab.
“The Government of India has declared a Pakistani official, working at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, persona non grata for indulging in activities not in keeping with his official status in India,” the Ministry of External Affairs stated in a press release issued in New Delhi. “The official has been asked to leave India within 24 hours.”
The MEA issued a démarche to Saad Ahmad Warraich, the Charge d’Affaires of the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi, conveying the decision of the government to expel the official, who had been found involved in the espionage racket, from India.
One Gujala was arrested from her father’s residence at Chor Mahalla in Malerkotla by the personnel of Punjab Police on Saturday. The 31-year-old widow came into contact with an official of the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi in February.
The Pakistani man was sending her money in exchange for information regarding the national security of India, according to the FIR registered by the Punjab Police. A male accomplice of the woman was also arrested. They were arrested after being booked under Section 152 of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act for allegedly endangering India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity. The FIR named the official of the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi as an accused.
The Punjab Police received a tip-off about the espionage racket about a week back, when the cross-border military offensives and counter-offensives between India and Pakistan were on, following the launch of India’s Operation Sindoor in response to the April 22 terrorist attack at Baisaran near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir.
As no action could be taken against the official of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi in view of his diplomatic immunity, India decided to expel him.