Pakistan has caught at least two Indian diplomats spying in Islamabad. The diplomats were involved in terrorist activities in Pakistan and may be expelled by the government.
The news comes just a week after Pakistan and India exchanged espionage accusations, but this time it’s more serious. The Pakistani government says Indian diplomats have been spying in Islamabad to benefit RAW.
RAW, Research and Analysis Wing, is India’s key spy agency. One of the diplomats caught red-handed by Pakistan is Rajesh Kumar Agnihotri, who has been identified as RAW station chief.
The other Indian diplomat named Balbir Singh has allegedly been spying for the Indian Intelligence Bureau (IB) and has been identified as IB’s officer. Both Agnihotri and Balbir are being linked to terrorist attacks in Pakistan, according to a source cited by The Express Tribune.
The source close to the Pakistani government claims the two diplomats have been operating at the Indian High Commission office in Islamabad.
India breeds espionage and terrorism in Pakistan
Last Thursday, Islamabad declared another official at the Indian High Commission, Surjeet Singh, persona non grata and advised him to leave the country.
The source adds that Singh was also a part of Balbir’s network involved in terrorist and subversive activities in Pakistan.
India has yet to offer its explanations on the matters of espionage and terrorism in Pakistan. All Vikas Swarup, the spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, told Reuters on Wednesday was that they haven’t received “any official communication” regarding its two diplomats.
India ‘threatens and blackmails’ Pakistani diplomats
After the news broke into the media, India claimed identities of 8 of its diplomats stationed in Pakistan had been exposed. However, Swarup declined to comment when asked whether India would be recalling the diplomats to ensure their safety.
Shortly after revealing the identities of the two Indian spies stationed in Pakistan, the Pakistani government recalled six staff members from its High Commission.
The list of Pakistani diplomats included at least four diplomats. And while they all had left New Delhi on Wednesday, Islamabad claims they weren’t expelled.
Instead, Pakistani High Commission officials were advised to get back to Islamabad for the sake of their own safety. Sources in the Pakistani High Commission said India has been “threatening and blackmailing” Pakistani diplomats.
“The Indian government is threatening and blackmailing our diplomats. So, in this condition, it is impossible for us to stay in this country and work,” the sources cited by The Hindu said.
The list of Pakistani officials includes commercial counselor Syed Furrukh Habib. The names of the eight officials were mentioned by Mehmood Akhtar, who was expelled from India last week for allegedly spying, during his interrogation, according to the sources.
India detained Akhtar, who worked as a Pakistani visa official, last week. India’s police claims Akhtar had sensitive documents in his possession.
Indian spy confesses RAW brutal crimes against civilians
This is not the first time Islamabad catches Indian spies red-handed. In March this year, Islamabad showed a video of a former Indian officer admitting India’s spy agency, RAW, had been killing and maiming Pakistani citizens.
The Indian spy, named Kulbhushan Yadav, was detained in Pakistan in early March. The Indian government confirmed Yadav is India’s national, but alleged he had taken early retirement from the country’s navy.
In the video, Yadav is seen confessing that the Indian foreign intelligence agency has been carrying out brutal crimes and barbarism against peaceful civilians in Pakistan.
Yadav said he had reported directly to the joint secretary of RAW, Anil Kumar Gupta.
Nuclear tensions between India and Pakistan
Relations between New Delhi and Islamabad took a major turn to the worse in July, when Indian security forces killed in Kashmir about 100 young protesters and injured thousands more. Islamabad is currently lobbying globally against India for its brutal actions against activists in Kashmir.
In September, a group of militants killed 18 Indian soldiers. Ever since then, the Indian government has been making Islamabad the bad guy in their conflict.
Many experts believe that the most recent developments in the Indian-Pakistan conflict may lead to an all-out war. The tensions between the two countries are so thick they can be cut with a knife.
India and Pakistan have been keen on destroying one another since 1947, when the two countries achieved independence from the British Empire.
Tensions between India vs Pakistan worsen
Intense firings on the Indian-Pakistan border last week killed several man and dozens more were injured. And while killings on the border have taken place for years, the number of brutal ceasefire violations has actually spiked recently.
In the past half century, Islamabad and New Delhi have fought two wars over Kashmir, which both claim as their own territory. But the most worrying war was in 1999, when the two traditional enemies nearly used nuclear weapons.
The fact that India and Pakistan remain nuclear-powered countries to this very day is what makes their conflict even more dangerous.
Russia is abandoning India for Pakistan
The conflict between Pakistan and India may become an international conflict as well.
Major international players such as Russia and China have been getting involved in the conflict, though not directly. Their recent warmth towards Pakistan has sparked speculations that the world may soon see the rise of the Russia-China-Pakistan triangle.
There is no telling what are Russian President Vladimir Putin’s long-term plans in South Asia, as he seems to be courting both Pakistan and India at the same time.
Russia remains India’s key weapons supplier, but Moscow has made a series of unpredictable and unexplained moves when it started selling weapons to Pakistan all of a sudden.
Thus, Russia is supplying both New Delhi and Islamabad, the countries on the brink of nuclear war, with its revolutionary weaponry.
In October, Russia and Pakistan held joint military drills called Druzhba (Friendship). The military exercises were held just weeks after 18 Indian soldiers were killed in the Uri attack in September.
While many in India are wondering what’s on Putin’s mind and which side he’s on, New Delhi is not interested in losing Russia as its weapons supplier. In fact, India is currently negotiating the purchase of S-400, stealth frigates and even a second nuclear submarine from Russia.
