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India expels Pakistani official, asked to leave country in 24 hours

The Ministry of External Affairs did not elaborate on the nature of the alleged activities.

A man protests outside Pakistan High Commission after terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam in April. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

India on Tuesday expelled an official working at the Pakistan High Commission for “indulging in activities not in keeping with his official status” and asked him to leave the country within 24 hours. India also issued a demarche to Pakistani Charge d’ Affaires in New Delhi on the activities of the official.

Following India’s action, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared a staff member of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad “persona non grata for engaging in activities incompatible with his privileged status” and asked the official to leave Pakistan within 24 hours.

“The Indian Charge d’Affaires was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today for a démarche, conveying this decision,” the Pakistan ministry declared on X.

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Sources in the Indian Foreign Ministry said the expelled Pakistani official has been linked to some recent arrests in Punjab. His exit brings down the effective strength of the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi to 29.

The Punjab police on Sunday said it had arrested two persons, including a woman, for their alleged involvement in espionage activities linked to a Pakistani official posted at the Delhi High Commission.

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Based on credible intelligence, a suspect was arrested for leaking sensitive information to a Pakistan-based handler regarding Indian Army movements, said DGP, Punjab, Gaurav Yadav. Those arrested were identified as 31-year-old Guzala and Yameen Mohamad, both residents of Malerkotla.

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The development came days after the Amritsar Rural Police arrested two persons — Falaksher Masih and Suraj Masih — for their alleged role in leaking sensitive information and photographs of the Army cantonment areas and airbases to Pakistan’s intelligence agency.

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India had earlier expelled 25 Pakistan diplomats and officials from its High Commission in New Delhi, reducing their strength from 55 to 30. Officials from Pakistan’s Armed Forces, including their Army, Navy and Air Force, were among those expelled by Delhi.

India also withdrew 25 of its diplomats from its High Commission in Islamabad. This was part of a series of diplomatic retaliatory steps by India after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

Shubhajit Roy

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

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