2 Pak High Commission officials caught spying, told to leave India

Sandeep Dikshit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 31

India has declared two Pakistan High Commission officials persona non grata for espionage and asked them to leave the country by Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the two were caught red handed by the police while accepting documents of Indian security establishment. The Indian who gave them the documents was handed over money and an iPhone. The duo was then interrogated during which they disclosed that they were also working for the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, it said.

The Pakistan Foreign Office has accused India of violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations for the "detention and torture" of its visa section employees Abid Husain and Tahir after they were "lifted by the Indian authorities on false and unsubstantiated charges". It said the incident was an attempt to escalate tensions to divert attention.

The MEA said Pakistan’s Charge de Affaires was issued a demarche in which a strong protest was lodged with regard to the activities of these officials against India’s national security. The Pakistan's Cd’A was also asked to ensure that no member of its diplomatic mission should indulge in activities inimical to India or behave in a manner incompatible with their diplomatic status.

The two have been declared persona non grata for "indulging in activities incompatible with their status as members of a diplomatic mission," it added.