India expels 2 Pak officials for involvement in spying, to leave country in 24 hrs

[Kool_SRG]

Officials of the special cell of Delhi Police, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said three officials of the Pakistani mission were arrested on Sunday while allegedly trying to obtain classified materials on the Indian security establishment.

 

 

India on Sunday expelled two officials of the Pakistan high commission after they were apprehended by law enforcement authorities on charges of engaging in espionage, the external affairs ministry said.

Officials of the special cell of Delhi Police, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said three officials of the Pakistani mission were detained at Bikanervala Chowk in Karol Bagh at 10.45 am on Sunday while allegedly trying to obtain classified materials on the Indian security establishment.

The three men – identified as Abid Hussain Abid, 42, an assistant in the Pakistani mission, Mohammad Tahir Khan, 44, a clerk, and Javed Hussain, 36, a driver – had been under surveillance for the past few months, the officials said.

“They were caught red-handed while obtaining documents on the Indian security establishment from an Indian national and handing over cash and an iPhone to him,” said one of the officials cited above.

 

The three men initially claimed they were Indians and even produced fake Aadhar cards, the officials said. “Later, during interrogation, they confessed they were officials at the Pakistan high commission and worked for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI),” a second official said.

A case was registered against them under the Official Secrets Act, the officials said. The detentions were the result of an operation jointly mounted by Delhi Police and Military Intelligence, they added.

Subsequently, the government ordered the expulsion of Abid and Khan, who both work for the visa section at the Pakistani mission. Abid had been posted in the mission since December 2018, while Khan was posted here in October 2015.

 

A statement issued by the external affairs ministry, without naming the detained men, said: “Two officials of the high commission of Pakistan in New Delhi were apprehended today [Sunday] by Indian law enforcement authorities for indulging in espionage activities.”

The government declared both these officials “persona non grata for indulging in activities incompatible with their status as members of a diplomatic mission and asked them to leave the country within twenty-four hours”, the statement said.

Pakistan’s charge d’affaires was issued a demarche or formal diplomatic representation, in which a strong protest was lodged about the “activities of these officials of the high commission of Pakistan against India’s national security”.

 

The charge d’affaires “was asked to ensure that no member of its diplomatic mission should indulge in activities inimical to India or behave in a manner incompatible with their diplomatic status”, the statement said.

There was no response from the spokesman of the Pakistani mission despite attempts to reach him on phone.

The development comes at a time when ties between India and Pakistan are at an all-time low. In 2016, India had expelled an official of the Pakistani mission after he too was nabbed by Indian security agencies while receiving classified documents.

[Kool_SRG]

Delhi Police detains 2 Pakistan High Commission assistants over spying charges

Investigators have accused the men of engaging in espionage and both have been declared persona non grata.

 

 

Delhi Police Special Cell on Sunday detained two individuals employed in the Pakistan High Commission as visa officers. They have been identified as Abid Hussain and Tahir Khan, both ISI operatives. A third person identified as Javed Hussain, a resident of Pakistan, has also been detained.

Initial inputs suggest that both of the individuals were caught engaging in espionage. They are being interrogated by the Delhi Police Special Cell and other agencies.

Sources say that investigators had an eye on the duo based on intelligence inputs. Abid Hussain and Tahir Khan were detained from Karol Bagh on Sunday morning where they were meeting a person to obtain documents pertaining to information on Indian security establishments and were caught red-handed giving the person Rs 15,000 in cash and an iPhone in exchange for the documents. Javed Hussain was also present at the spot.

Initially, Abid and Tahir claimed to be Indian citizens and produced fake Aadhaar cards but admitted to their stations at the Pakistan High Commission during interrogation.

Abid, 42, is resident of Shekhpura in Pakistan's Punjab province while 44-year-old Tahir is resident of Islamabad. Javed Hussain, on the other hand, hails from Bhakkar in Pakistan.

Both Tahir and Abid have been declared persona non grata. They have been directed to leave the country within 24 hours.

Pakistan's Charge de Affaires was issued a demarche in which a strong protest was lodged with regard to the activities of these officials of the High Commission of Pakistan against India's national security.

In an official statement, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Sunday. The statement read, "Pakistan condemns the Indian action of declaring Pakistan High Commission Staff member as Persona Non Grata (PNG)."

The statement by Pakistan's Foreign Ministry went even further to claim, "The Indian action has been accompanied by a negative pre-planned and orchestrated media campaign, which is a part of persistent anti-Pakistan propaganda. Two staff members of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi were lifted by the Indian authorities today (31 May 2020) on false and unsubstantiated charges. They were, however, released on intervention by the High Commission. We condemn the detention and torture as well as threatening and pressuring of the diplomatic officials to accept false charges."

Pakistan's Diplomatic Corps has been asked to ensure that no member of its diplomatic mission should indulge in activities inimical to India or behave in a manner incompatible with their diplomatic status.

Earlier, a similar espionage racket was busted in October 2016 when a staffer of Pakistan High Commission was nabbed by Delhi Police's Crime Branch.

[Kool_SRG]

File photos of Abid Hussain and Tahir Khan (Photo Credits: India Today)

 

File photo of Javed Hussain (Photo Credits: India Today)

[Kool_SRG]

Why they are asking them to leave jail lo esi kummi dobbaka.... Vankara budhi matuku maaradhu vedhavalaki...

[vaakel_saab]

1 hour ago, Kool_SRG said:

Why they are asking them to leave jail lo esi kummi dobbaka.... Vankara budhi matuku maaradhu vedhavalaki...

diplomatic immunity untadhi vallaki

[MRI]

1 hour ago, Kool_SRG said:

Why they are asking them to leave jail lo esi kummi dobbaka.... Vankara budhi matuku maaradhu vedhavalaki...

you think only Pakistan does it? India kooda chestundi. Every country does it. When these folks have diplomatic immunity under Vienna convention, you cannot arrest them..

[MRI]

1 hour ago, Kool_SRG said:

Why they are asking them to leave jail lo esi kummi dobbaka.... Vankara budhi matuku maaradhu vedhavalaki...

Monna UK lo.. oka diplomat pellam tappa taagi.. oka minor ni anukunta reckless driving tho champindi.. mogudu pellalaki kooda diplomatic immunity vuntadi.. manchiga US ki tirigi vachindi.. US emo extradition ki oppukotledu..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/01/24/anne-sacoolas-extradition/