Pakistan expels Indian diplomats Rajesh Agnihotri, Balbir Singh from the country

Islamabad: Pakistan has asked two officials of the Indian High Commission to leave the country for their alleged involvement in subversive activities, a local Pakistan media report said on Wednesday. The news was confirmed by CNN-News18.

#BREAKING | Indian High Commission official Rajesh Agnihotri and Balbir Singh declared persona non grata by Pakistan

— News18 (@CNNnews18) November 2, 2016

While Geo TV reported that commercial counsellor Rajesh Agnihotri and press counsellor Balbir Singh may be expelled, CNN-News18 confirmed that the mission staff were asked to leave the country. Citing sources, the channel claimed that Agnihotri was directly linked with RAW while Singh was working for Intelligence Bureau (IB) and they were allegedly using their positions in Pakistan as cover to hide their real identities. It claimed Singh was also running a network of militants in Pakistan and expelled High Commission official Surgeet Singh was also part of his network. [caption id=“attachment_3044412” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Pakistan Prime MInister Nawaz Sharif. Reuters[/caption] The development came after reports that Pakistan may call back at least four officials at its High Commission in India after they were named in a recorded statement of Mehmood Akhtar who was briefly detained and then expelled by India. They include commercial counsellor Syed Furrukh Habib and first secretaries Khadim Hussain, Mudassir Cheema and Shahid Iqbal. There were no immediate comments from the Indian High Commission about the reports. With inputs from PTI