India and Pakistan engage in tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats
India and Pakistan each expelled diplomats from the other's high commission on Tuesday, accusing them of espionage. The move has further strained relations amid border tensions.
New Delhi first ordered the expulsion of a Pakistani diplomat, citing 'activities beyond his official role' and suggesting that the unnamed official was engaged in espionage. India also issued a formal protest to the Pakistani charge d'affaires in New Delhi regarding the official's actions, the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Pakistan responded by asking an unnamed Indian diplomat in Islamabad to leave the country, according to a Pakistani Foreign Ministry statement.
'The Government of Pakistan has declared a staff member of the Indian High Commission, Islamabad, as persona non grata for engaging in activities incompatible with his privileged status,' the ministry said on Tuesday. Islamabad also followed in Delhi's footsteps with its own demarche.
🔊PR NO.1️⃣3️⃣7️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣A Staff Member of the Indian High Commission, Islamabad, Declared as Persona Non Grata.🔗⬇️https://t.co/r7TbFLHGYtpic.twitter.com/WjSHQ8mgfE
The measures come days after a military pause was announced between the South Asian neighbors, following a brief showdown. It also follows the downgrading of diplomatic ties, announced by the two countries last month after the April 22 terrorist attack in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir that claimed 26 civilian lives.
Immediately after the attack, New Delhi implemented significant measures to reduce its diplomatic and trade relations with Islamabad, affecting diplomatic missions and visa services to Pakistani nationals. India also suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, which allows the two countries to share the waters of the Indus River system.
Indian media reports said the expulsion of the Pakistani diplomat was related to leaks of sensitive information and photographs of Indian Army cantonment areas and air bases to Pakistan's intelligence agency. On Sunday, police in the Indian state of Punjab arrested two individuals for allegedly leaking classified Indian Army information to a Pakistani handler, India Today reported.
The latest expulsion of diplomats means staff strength in the diplomatic missions of both countries has been reduced to 29.
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