As reported by the Indian Express, Surjeet Singh the Indian High Commission official left the country with his family on Saturday after Pakistan declared him a ‘persona non grata’ in retaliatory action.
He was told to leave Pakistan in 48 hours by the Foreign Office, Geo News reported and his expulsion orders came within hours of India busting a spy ring run by a Pakistani High Commission official and asking him to leave the country. Pakistan Foreign Secretary, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, had summoned Indian High Commissioner, Gautam Bambawale, in Islamabad on Thursday and declared Surjeet Singh as persona non grata and asked that he leave the country by Saturday.
Pakistani Foreign Office refuted the charges as “false” and said, “The Foreign Secretary expressed deep concern over the activities of the Indian official that were in violation of the Vienna Convention and the established diplomatic norms.” The action came hours after Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit in New Delhi that day to protest against Mehmood Akhtar, a visa officer at the Pakistan High Commission, who India accused of spying.
Pakistan has denied the espionage charges levelled against Akhtar as “false and unsubstantiated”, and alleged that Indian police “manhandled” him. Akhtar was accused of obtaining Indian defence documents. He was released as he is entitled to diplomatic immunity
India said that Akhtar was the “kingpin” of a spying network that was active for 18 months. The Pakistan Foreign Ministry said the Akhtar was detained for three hours on “false and unsubstantiated” charges of espionage before he was returned to the mission. Pakistan also noted that Akhtar’s detention violated the Vienna Convention. India categorically denied that the accused officer was mistreated.