India expels Pakistani High Commission official; second in one week

India on Wednesday expelled a Pakistani official working at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi on charges of 'indulging in activities not in keeping with his official status'.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the official has been given 24 hours to leave the country. It said the charge d'affaires of the Pakistan High Commission was issued a demarche to this effect.

"He was asked to strictly ensure that none of the Pakistani diplomats or officials in India misuse their privileges and status in any manner," the MEA said in a statement.

On 13 May, India expelled a Pakistani official for allegedly indulging in espionage. On that occasion, too, the MEA said the official was indulging in activities not in keeping with his official status in India, and that he had been given 24 hours to leave the country.

This official's name has reportedly come up once again with the arrest of Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, currently being interrogated in police custody by NIA and other investigating agencies for her alleged links to Pakistan and acts of espionage on behalf of the neighbouring nation.

The 13 May expulsion came amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan following their four-day military confrontation beginning with the launch of Operation Sindoor by India in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, which India has claimed was perpetrated by The Resistance Front, an affiliate of the banned Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Though the MEA did not divulge specific charges against the Pakistani official at the time, PTI reported that they may have been related to a case of espionage being probed by Punjab Police.

On 11 May, Punjab Police said it had arrested two persons including a woman for their alleged involvement in espionage activities linked to a Pakistani official posted at the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi.

Based on credible intelligence, a suspect was arrested for leaking sensitive information to a Pakistan-based handler regarding Indian Army movements, Punjab's director-general of police Gaurav Yadav had said.

The development came days after Amritsar Rural Police arrested two persons — Falaksher Masih and Suraj Masih — for their alleged role in leaking sensitive information and photographs of Army Cantonment areas and airbases to Pakistan's intelligence agency, as per local officials.

Yadav said the accused had been receiving payments through online transactions in exchange for sharing classified information.