India on Tuesday asked Pakistan to reduce its workforce in the country by half, a decision that comes weeks after the police expelled two employees at the High Commission in Delhi on charges of espionage. In the subsequent tit-for-tat action, Pakistani security agencies picked up two Indian High Commission employees in Islamabad, tortured them and implicated them in a false case of a road accident and took possession of fake currency.
The proposal, first reported by Hindustan Times, was sent to the Ministry of External Affairs on 16 June as a horrific description of the torture of two Indian employees.
Government officials told Hindustan Times that 110 commissions were agreed in the high commissions in Delhi and Islamabad. This strength has been reduced to 55. Both countries currently have more than 90 officers.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday summoned Pakistan’s Charge d’Affair Syed Haider Shah and told him about India’s continuing concern about the activities of its mission officials who are engaged in espionage and dealing with terrorist organizations.
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Back in Islamabad, told Syed Haider Shah, Pakistan has engaged in a relentless campaign to prevent the Indian High Commission officials in Islamabad from carrying out their legitimate diplomatic functions.
The Foreign Ministry said the two officers returned on Monday, providing “a graphic account of the barbaric treatment they had experienced at the hands of Pakistani agencies.”
“The behavior of Pakistan and its officials is not in conformity with the Vienna Convention and bilateral agreements on the treatment of diplomatic and consular officers. On the contrary, it is an intrinsic element of a larger policy to support cross-border violence and terrorism, ”the Foreign Ministry said.
“Therefore, the Government of India has decided to reduce the staff strength at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi by 50%. It will mutually reduce its presence in Islamabad by the same proportion. The decision, which was to be implemented in seven days, was conveyed to the Pakistani charge D’Fair, “the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
In discussing plans to halve the strength of the mission, a senior government official said, New Delhi had noted that the Indian High Commission officials in Islamabad were not able to exit the mission fearing that they might be picked up Fake and false cases were implicated by Inter Services Intelligence of Pakistan. In contrast, Pakistani officials in Delhi have roamed freely, some of them even tapping people for classified information.
Pakistan formed diplomatic relations last August after India abolished the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and the two Union Territories. The missions of the two countries have since been led by an in-charge DAFair, not a High Commissioner.
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