The big fight over the arrest of the Pakistani spy has only just commenced. In a day which saw the diplomatic communities in both countries go on overdrive, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said India had nipped an ISI ring in the bud with the arrest of an official from the Pakistani high commission.
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Aadhar card of accused Pak high commission staffer Mehmood Akhtar | Namrata Biji Ahuja
“Investigations are on,’’ said the MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup, in reply to a question on whether any more skeletons may tumble out of the Pakistan high commission’s closet. India denied the charge leveled by the Pakistani high commission that Mehmood Akhtar was “manhandled”. “He was treated with courtesy befitting his status,” said Swarup. Akhtar was handed over to a Pakistani diplomat by an MEA official. “When he was handed over, Akhtar himself said that he had been treated well,’’ said Swarup.
Akhtar and his family have 48 hours to leave India. The foreign secretary summoned the high commissioner of Pakistan, Abdul Basit, earlier in the day and informed him of the official in “pursuit of espionage”. The foreign secretary also strongly conveyed to the Pakistan high commissioner that none of its members should indulge in “activities inimical to India or behave in a manner that is incompatible with their diplomatic status”.
Refuting the claim by Pakistan that Akhtar had been “lifted’’ by Indian authorities on “false and unsubstantiated charges’’, and that this was India’s way of diverting attention from Kashmir, Swarup said that Akhtar had been “literally caught red handed.” “I don’t see the rationale behind bringing up Kashmir,’’ he said.
“Denial by Pakistan has become characteristic,’’ said Swarup. Coming out strongly against Pakistan, Swarup said that terror had become the central motif between the interaction between India and Pakistan. “We hope that Pakistan will honour the promises it made about not letting its soil be used for terrorism.”