ANKARA, May 22 — India and Pakistan have expelled each other’s diplomats, declaring them “persona non grata” and ordering them to leave their respective countries within 24 hours, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
The Indian Foreign Ministry said that a Pakistani official working at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi had been declared “persona non grata” for “indulging in activities not in keeping with his official status in India.”
“The official has been asked to leave India within 24 hours,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
It added that the Pakistani mission’s charge d’affaires had been asked to ensure that none of the Pakistani diplomats or officials in India “misuse their privileges and status in any manner.”
In a tit-for-tat move later the same day, Pakistan expelled an official from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, also declaring him “persona non grata” for “engaging in activities inconsistent with his privileged status,” according to a statement issued early on Thursday.
The Indian official has also been directed to leave Pakistan within 24 hours.
Islamabad summoned the Indian charge d’affaires to the Foreign Ministry to formally convey the decision.
“It was stressed that none of the diplomats or staff members of the Indian High Commission should misuse their privileges and status in any manner,” the statement said.
This marks the second reciprocal expulsion of diplomats between the two arch-rivals this month.
It comes amid ongoing tensions despite a United States-mediated ceasefire declared on May 10 following a military escalation that began on May 6, when India fired missiles into Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, hitting what it claimed were “nine terror locations.”
Following the ceasefire, both sides agreed to implement confidence-building measures to reduce military alertness.
— Bernama
