Pak mission staff declared persona non-grata over espionage

India on Thursday declared a Pakistan High Commission staffer as persona non-grata for suspected espionage activities after he was caught by Delhi Police with sensitive defence documents including deployment details of Border Security Force (BSF) along the Indo-Pak border.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to his office to convey India's action following brief detention of the staffer who was later released.

“Foreign Secretary summoned the Pak high commissioner to convey that Pak High Commission staffer has been declared persona non- grata for espionage activities," said Vikas Swarup, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs.

Basit strongly protested with Indian Foreign Secretary the "detention and manhandling" of Pakistan High Commission staffer yesterday (Wednesday) in violation of 1961 Vienna Convention, according to Pakistan Foreign Office. The Pakistani envoy also strongly rejected the accusations, terming them “false and unsubstantiated”.

Acting on inputs, Delhi Police crime branch took the staffer identified as Mehmood Akhtar in custody after he was found in possession of certain defence documents. Akhtar was released after questioning as he enjoys diplomatic immunity, police said.

The crime branch has also arrested two persons, residents of Rajasthan, for allegedly passing on sensitive information to Akhtar, they said.

“The alleged spies are residents of Rajasthan working for Pakistan’s ISI. They were in touch with the staff here at Pakistan High Commission and were providing sensitive information,” said a senior police officer.

Those arrested have been identified as Maulana Ramzan and Subhash Jangir, he said.

Reacting strongly to Pakistan’s denial of charges as “false and unsubstantiated” and that it was an attempt by India to divert attention from Kashmir issue, Swarup said there was no “rationale” behind the claim as Akhtar was caught “red-handed” committing an illegal act.

"We are happy that we nipped the ISI spy ring in the bud," he said, adding that "denial that has come out from Pakistan is something which has by now become quite characteristic (of that country)."

On remarks of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan that India was trying to "implode" Pakistan, the Spokesperson said if today that country is feeling isolated, it is because of "misguided policies".

Giving details of how Akhtar was caught, Swarup said following intelligence inputs for the last six months relating to espionage involving vital installations of army and paramilitary forces, Akhtar was intercepted by Delhi Police in the forenoon yesterday while he was receiving sensitive documents pertaining to national security from two persons.

Although initially Akhtar masqueraded as an Indian national and even produced a fake Aadhar card, he later admitted that he worked at the Pakistan High Commission and requested that the mission be informed of the developments.

Earlier, at a press conference, Delhi Police said acting on inputs, its crime branch took the staffer identified as Mehmood Akhtar into custody after he was found in possession of certain defence documents.

Akhtar was released after questioning as he enjoys diplomatic immunity, police said.

The crime branch has also arrested two persons, residents of Rajasthan, for allegedly passing on sensitive information to Akhtar, they said.

"The alleged spies are residents of Rajasthan working for Pakistan's ISI. They were in touch with the staff here at Pakistan High Commission and were providing sensitive information," said a senior police officer.

Those arrested have been identified as Maulana Ramzan and Subhash Jangir, he said.