According to Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria, Pakistan's High Commissioner in New Delhi Abdul Basit was called in by Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday to convey the decision of Indian government that one of the staff members of the High Commission has been declared persona non grata and should leave India by October 29, 2016.
The diplomatic official was identified by Indian media as Mehmood Akhtar who was caught with "defence-related documents". "The Indian action has been accompanied by an extremely negative and orchestrated media campaign", said the Foreign Office spokesperson, who stated that a staff member of Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi was lifted by Indian authorities on October 26, 2016 on false and unsubstantiated charges.
He was, however, released in about three hours on intervention by the High Commission. "We condemn the detention and manhandling of our diplomatic official", the spokesperson said and also rejected the Indian allegations and deplore the Indian action which is indeed a violation of Vienna Convention as well as the norms of diplomatic conduct especially in an already vitiated atmosphere.
He said that Pakistan High Commission has always been working within the parameters of international law and diplomatic norms. "This act clearly reflects Indian actions to shrink diplomatic space for the working of Pakistan High Commission", he said. He added that the Indian attempts to escalate the tensions and divert the international attention from the grave human rights violations being perpetrated by the Indian occupation forces in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir can never succeed.
"Pakistan urges the international community to take notice of the Indian designs", he added. Earlier, Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup, tweeted that the Indian Foreign Secretary summoned Pakistan's High Commissioner to convey that Pakistan High Commission staffer has been declared persona non grata for "espionage activities".