India claimed it will expel a Pakistani high commission staff member for alleged ‘espionage activities’, a foreign ministry official said on Thursday, as local media earlier said that New Delhi police had detained him.
FS summons Pak High Commissioner to convey that Pak High Commission staffer has been declared persona non grata for espionage activities
— Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) October 27, 2016
“FS (foreign secretary) summons Pak High Commissioner to convey that Pak High Commission staffer has been declared persona non grata for espionage activities,” foreign ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said on Twitter.
Delhi police said on Thursday it has released the Pakistan high commission official who was briefly detained over alleged espionage charges in the Indian capital city.
According to Indian media reports, the official, Mehmood Akhtar, was a team member of Abdul Basit, Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi and was reportedly found possessing some ‘classified army-related documents’.
READ MORE: India arrests Pakistan high commission official for alleged espionage
The 35-year-old Pakistani official was held for espionage charges; it said and claimed that the Indian Intelligence Bureau had reportedly tailed him for a week.
However, Mehmood Akhtar was later after released a short period of detention due to ‘diplomatic’ immunity.
Tensions between the two neighbouring countries soared in recent weeks as India blamed Pakistan for an attack on an army base in Indian-held Kashmir on September 18.
Pakistan has always denied the Indian allegations, saying Delhi was Islamabad only to divert world’s attention from its own atrocities in the held Himalayan valley of Kashmir.
Thousands of Kashmiris have been killed and injured in the disputed valley only because they want either freedom from Indian rule or a merger with Pakistan as per resolutions of the United Nations (UN).