Is Pak ‘Spy’ Arrest India’s Way of Hitting Back On Kulbhushan?

The spate of arrests of so-called Pakistani “spies” in Delhi comes at a time when India’s repeated attempts to seek consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav – said to be a former navy officer who remains incarcerated in a Pakistani jail since March this year – failed to elicit any response from Islamabad.

The Delhi Police on Thursday arrested Pakistan High Commission staffer Mohammad Akhtar on charges of espionage, but he was let off owing to his diplomatic immunity. However, his Indian associates – Maulana Ramzan and Subhash – were not so lucky.

More people are likely to be involved in the matter. Another Jodhpur-based person identified as Shoaib will be arrested soon for his involvement in espionage ring, reports said.

Delhi Police Crime Branch Joint Commissioner, Ravindra Yadav, said Akhtar was in possession of documents that included defence deployment maps, details of BSF staff and other visa-related documents.

On the same day, the Pakistani Foreign Secretary summoned the Indian High Commission and conveyed that an employee from the Indian High Commission in Pakistan, Surjeet Singh, has been declared a persona non grata.

Whispers in the wind say these arrests are perhaps India’s rejoinder to Pakistan’s stoic stance on Jadhav, who was arrested in March in Baluchistan.

India has acknowledged Jadhav as a retired Indian Navy officer.

Pakistan had alleged

that Jadhav still serves in the Indian navy – and carried a fake Iranian passport to enter the region to launch “subversive activities” in Baluchistan, which is seeking independence from Islamabad’s rule.

Passport of Indian Spy with a fake Muslim name used to enter #Iran then into #Pakistan for running terrorist groups. http://pic.twitter.com/DmnFMEpHPJ — Pakistan Defence (@defencepk) March 25, 2016

Among accusations that the Indian government has gone into a coma over the issue, an article published in The Times of India on Thursday – hours before the announcement of Akhtar’s arrest – argued otherwise.

India has reportedly issued as many as six note verbales to the Pakistan Foreign Ministry asking for consular access to Jadhav, who the government insists is not a spy. As multiple note verbales to our neighbor go unanswered, has the government of India found an alternative way of conveying its message?

Possible Round 3: Tit for tat expulsion of Indian high commission staffer by Pakistan. — Rezaul Hasan Laskar (@Rezhasan) October 27, 2016

Defence journalist Ajay Shukla said it was too soon to comment on the issue.

Things are in a shady grey zone. Anyone who’s commenting on the issue right now is speculating.

While more clarity on Akhtar’s arrest and its implications is awaited, India seems to have sent out a strong message. What the next move will be, is for Islamabad to decide.

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