India suspects Pakistan used its High Commission in New Delhi to recruit terrorists

At least 218 Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) youths went untraceable after they travelled to Pakistan on visas issued by the High Commission of the neighbouring country in India since 2017 and New Delhi apprehends they might have been recruited by terrorist organisations.

The reports of the intelligence agencies about the J&K youths traveling legally to Pakistan and not returning to India recently prompted the government to ask the neighbouring country to withdraw half of its personnel posted at its High Commission in New Delhi. A source in New Delhi that the probe by the intelligence agencies indicated that Pakistan was using its High Commission in the capital of India not only to run espionage networks for its military spy agency, but also to recruit terrorists.

The High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi issued visas to 399 youths from J&K since January 2017 to let then travel to the neighbouring country. The whereabouts of about 218 of them are presently unknown as they went untraceable after crossing over from India to Pakistan, the source told DH.

What lent credence to the suspicion of the security agencies were the identities of three of the five Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, who were killed by the security forces in an encounter soon after they infiltrated into Keran in J&K from Dudhnial across India-Pakistan Line of Control (LoC) on the intervening night of March 31 and April 1 last. The three were identified as Adil Hussain Mir, Umar Nazir Khan and Sajjad Ahmed Hurrah, all residents of J&K, who had traveled to Pakistan in April 2018 on visas issued by the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

India on Tuesday moved to downgrade its diplomatic relations with Pakistan, asking the government of the neighbouring country to withdraw half of the personnel working at its High Commission in New Delhi within the next seven days.

New Delhi cited involvement of the officials of the High Commission of Pakistan in espionage against India as well as their “dealings” with terrorists as reasons for its decision.

The intelligence agencies reported that Pakistan was targeting the youths of the J&K to radicalize them and recruit them as terrorists to use in its “proxy-war” against India. They were being sent to Pakistan on visas issued by the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi, recruited, trained and armed by the LeT or the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) to return to India and carry out attacks. “Pakistan wants to use the J&K youths to carry out attacks in India as, if they are caught or neutralized, identification process would reveal that they hailed from what is now Union Territory of India,” said another source, adding that any attack by the J&K youths-turned-terrorists would give an opportunity to Pakistan to claim that India was experiencing local resistance to its August 2019 move on J&K.

Two undercover agents of the Inter- Services Intelligence (ISI) of the neighbouring country were recently caught red-handed in New Delhi when they were involved in espionage against India. They were working as consular officials at the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi. India expelled both of them immediately and they returned to Pakistan on June 1.

Pakistan retaliated on June 15 by arresting two officials of the High Commission of India in its capital – allegedly for hurting a pedestrian in a road mishap and for possessing fake currencies. The two officials were released after being detained in a police station for over 10 hours. India accused Pakistan of making baseless allegations against its officials and violating the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. They returned to New Delhi on Monday. A day later, India conveyed to Pakistan its decision to downgrade diplomatic ties, asking the neighbouring country’s government to cut 50% of the staff at its High Commission in New Delhi.

New Delhi also decided to withdraw 50% of its personnel currently posted at the High Commission of India in Islamabad, protesting against the attempt by the security and intelligence agencies of the neighbouring country to intimidate its diplomats and consular officials.