Pakistan lodges protest with India over border unrest, espionage activities

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh and protested over repeated ceasefire violations by Indian border forces (BSF) and espionage activities of Indian diplomats in Pakistan.

Earlier today, three Indian diplomats – Anurag Singh, Vijay Kumar Verma and Madhavan Nanda Kumar – were expelled from Pakistan for allegedly spying for India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency and fuelling terrorism in the country.

On November 3, Pakistan named eight Indian diplomats it accuses of espionage and terrorism, as tension between the nuclear-armed rivals escalated following days of artillery duels and skirmishes on the border dividing the disputed Kashmir region.

It accused them of fuelling instability in Sindh and Balochistan and sabotaging the $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), involving transport and energy infrastructure projects to link China with Pakistan’s coast on the Arabian Sea.

Must Read: Three Indian diplomats ‘expelled’ from Pakistan on espionage charges

The Indian diplomats were also accused of liaising with factions of the local Taliban and of working to damage Pakistan’s relations with western neighbour Afghanistan.

“We are disappointed that India has not only been found involved in promoting terrorist activities and terror financing as was disclosed by Kulbhushan Yadav and further confirmed by the statements at the highest political level on August 15th, but also been using its diplomatic mission for nefarious designs,” said FO Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria.

In October, Pakistan and India had expelled one diplomat from each other’s embassies, accusing them of spying.

Meanwhile, skirmishes intensified between the two countries along the disputed frontier running through Kashmir.

At least three civilians were also killed and four others were injured on Monday when Indian forces send fire and shells across the line of control (LOC) in Nikial and Jandrot sectors, said FO in a statement.

Pakistan told JP Singh that India must refrain from creating a troubled situation for soldiers and civilians along the border.

“The Director General urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding; investigate the continued incidents of ceasefire violations; instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit, stop targeting the villages and civilians and maintain peace on the LOC,” the statement added.