India expels Pakistani official..!? Leave the country within 24 hrs..!?
The indian government has declared an official working at the pakistan High Commission in delhi as 'persona non grata' for acting contrary to his diplomatic status. With this, india has issued orders to the said official to leave the country within 24 hours. To this extent, it has given official orders to the pakistan High Commission through the Charge d'Affaires. india has made it clear that those working in the pakistan High Commission should not misuse their powers. Although the indian Ministry of External Affairs did not reveal the name of the officer in the official statement, according to reliable sources, india has identified the officer as being involved in espionage activities. The police have identified that the officer has links with two people recently arrested by the punjab police, who have passed on sensitive information about the movements of indian military forces to Pakistan. It is against international diplomatic norms for diplomats to engage in hostile activities beyond the scope of their office.
Declaring a diplomat persona non grata means declaring the person an undesirable person in that country. This removes the diplomatic privileges and immunities that the official was entitled to. Usually, when a country expels a diplomat, the other country retaliates by expelling its own diplomat. However, it remains to be seen how pakistan will react to this.