New Delhi: India Tuesday expelled a staffer at Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi, connected with a case of espionage in Punjab. The Pakistani Charge d’Affaires was issued a demarche by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) with regards to this case.
“The Government of India has declared a Pakistani official, working at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, persona non grata for indulging in activities not in keeping with his official status in India. The official has been asked to leave India within 24 hours. Charge d’ Affaires, Pakistan High Commission, was issued a demarche to this effect today,” MEA said in a statement.
As ThePrint reported earlier, the staff member identified as Danish cultivated an individual to leak sensitive information, which was then allegedly shared with the Government of Pakistan. Two Malerkotla residents identified as Guzala and Yameen Mohammed by the Punjab Police, were arrested last week in connection with this case.
Guzala is said to have met Danish at the Pakistan High Commission in February, when she went to apply for a visa. The two remained in touch over messenger applications. Subsequently, Guzala was paid roughly Rs 30,000 to share sensitive information on the Indian Army.
Following her arrest and interrogation, the police picked up Yameen, who is allegedly the ring-leader behind the spy-ring.
Guzala has never travelled to Pakistan, while Mohammad is said to have travelled there twice—in 2018 and 2022, according to ThePrint’s report.
Guzala allegedly received the Rs 30,000 in two transactions—Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000—via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
The First Information Report (FIR) against Guzala and Danish was filed on 8 May, a day after India launched Operation Sindoor. Operation Sindoor targeted nine terrorist complexes in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir including Bahawalpur, the headquarters of the internationally proscribed organisation the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Muridke, the headquarters of the Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) and Muzaffarabad.
Guzala is said to have met Danish sometime in April to exchange the sensitive information and thereafter a part of the Rs 30,000 was transferred to her by Yameen. The case was cracked by Punjab Police Sunday.
The expulsion of Danish comes as tensions remain high between India and Pakistan. On 22 April, terrorists killed 26 tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. The dead included 25 Indians and one foreign national.
India considered the terrorist attack an escalation and responded with Operation Sindoor. Eventually between 7 May and 10 May, a military conflict between the two countries began, with Pakistan attempting to strike at civilian and military infrastructure across the Line of Control and the International Boundary.
On 10 May, Pakistan launched its widest attack yet, targeting 26 locations, which was thwarted by the Indian armed forces subject to limited damage to infrastructure and personnel. Eventually Saturday afternoon, India and Pakistan agreed to cease hostilities starting from 5 PM that day.
The tenuous cessation of hostilities have held, with the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) from both countries speaking for a second time Monday.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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