World News | Pak Condemns India's Action Expelling 2 High Commission Officials on Charges of Espionage

Islamabad, May 31 (PTI) Pakistan on Sunday condemned India's decision declaring two officials of its High Commission in New Delhi as persona non grata on charges of espionage and ordering them to leave the country within 24 hours, saying the action has been accompanied by a negative, pre-planned and orchestrated media campaign.

Pakistan's Foreign Office said that the two staff members of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi were lifted by the Indian authorities on May 31 on "false and unsubstantiated charges".

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They were, however, released on the High Commission's intervention, it said.

"The Indian action has been accompanied by a negative, pre-planned and orchestrated media campaign, which is a part of persistent anti-Pakistan propaganda," the FO said in a statement.

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"We condemn the detention and torture as well as threatening and pressuring of the diplomatic officials to accept false charges," it said.

It said the Indian action is in "clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as well as the norms of diplomatic conduct especially in an already vitiated atmosphere".

The FO's statement came after India on Sunday declared two officials of the Pakistan High Commission as persona non grata on charges of espionage and ordered them to leave the country within 24 hours, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

Abid Hussain and Muhammad Tahir were caught by police while obtaining sensitive documents relating to Indian security establishment from an Indian national in exchange of money, official sources said.

The officials, working at the visa section of the Pakistan High Commission, confessed during the interrogation that they worked for Pakistani spy agency ISI, the sources said.

The punitive action against the two officials came in the midst of frayed ties between the two countries over reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir by India.

Pakistan had downgraded diplomatic ties by expelling the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad following India's decision to withdraw special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state into two union territories in August last year.

The MEA said a strong protest was lodged with the Charge de Affairs of the Pakistan High Commission over the activities of its two officials against India's national security.

The sources said the two officials were handing over Indian money and an iphone for providing them the documents.

They initially claimed that they were Indian nationals and even produced fake Aadhaar cards, the sources said.

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