Operation Sindoor LIVE: Pak official expelled; asked to leave in 24 hours
Though the MEA did not divulge specific charges against the Pakistani national, it is learnt that they are related to a case of espionage
India on Tuesday (May 13) expelled a Pakistani official working at the Pakistan High Commission for allegedly indulging in alleged espionage.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the official was indulging in activities not in keeping with his official status in India and that he has been given 24 hours to leave the country.
The action came amid heightened tension between the two countries following their four-day military confrontation.
India also issued a demarche to Pakistani Charge d' Affaires in New Delhi on the activities of the official.
Spying angle?
Though the MEA did not divulge the specific charges against the Pakistani national, it is learnt that they are related to a case of espionage being probed by Punjab Police. "The government of India has declared a Pakistani official, working at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, persona non grata for indulging in activities not in keeping with his official status in India," the MEA said.
"The official has been asked to leave India within 24 hours. Charge d' Affaires, Pakistan High Commission, was issued a demarche to this effect today," it said.
Punjab Police on Sunday said it has arrested two persons, including a woman, for their alleged involvement in espionage activities linked to a Pakistani official posted at the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi.
Based on credible intelligence, a suspect was arrested for leaking sensitive information to a Pakistan-based handler regarding Indian Army movements, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said.
The development came days after Amritsar Rural Police arrested two persons -- Falaksher Masih and Suraj Masih -- for their alleged role in leaking sensitive information and photographs of the Army Cantonment areas and air bases to Pakistan's intelligence agency, according local officials.
Yadav said the accused had been receiving payments through online transactions in exchange for sharing classified information.
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Live Updates
- 13 May 2025 10:02 AM IST
PM chooses monologue over dialogue: Priyank Kharge on Modi’s address
#WATCH | On PM Modi's address to the nation on Operation Sindoor, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge says, "While PM is ready to talk to every world leader about Pakistan, he should also address his countrymen and other political parties. It has been over a fortnight, and the PM… pic.twitter.com/D6vjzbtCd0
— ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2025 - 13 May 2025 9:49 AM IST
Schools in Amritsar, Pathankot, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Tarn Taran remain shut
Schools in five border districts of Punjab remained closed on Tuesday while a blackout was enforced in Amritsar and Hoshiarpur's Dasuya and Mukerian areas last night as a precautionary measure, officials said.
Colleges and universities also remained shut in Pathankot and Amritsar. However, authorities in Amritsar said universities and colleges can take classes online. They said schools remained closed in Amritsar, Pathankot, Fazilka, Ferozepur and Tarn Taran. However, schools in Gurdaspur, Punjab's sixth border district, as well as those in Sangrur and Barnala reopened on Tuesday.
The Amritsar district administration on Tuesday morning said people can resume their normal activities.
Blackouts were enforced in Amritsar and Hoshiarpur's Dasuya and Mukerian areas as a precautionary measure. Electricity supply in Amritsar was restored at 11:42 pm on Monday.
An Amritsar-bound IndiGo flight returned to Delhi on Monday evening after blackout measures were enforced and the airport in the Punjab district closed.
Drone activity was observed in the Jalandhar area on Monday evening, following which electricity supply was shut in certain areas. Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal on Monday evening said armed forces neutralised a suspected "surveillance drone" near Mand village in Jalandhar.
In a message at 10:45 pm, the officer advised people to inform police if they notice any debris of flying objects and not veture too close.
- 13 May 2025 9:04 AM IST
FS Misri to brief Tharoor-led parliamentary panel on situation with Pakistan on May 19
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will brief Parliament's Standing Committee on External Affairs on the current situation with Pakistan on May 19.
The committee's chairman and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor told PTI Misri will brief the panel on Monday on the developments, which were marked by India striking terror sites in Pakistan followed by days of intense military action between the two countries before they agreed to stop firing.
Misri has regularly briefed the committee on a host of foreign affairs issues, including developments in India's neighbourhood like Bangladesh and in its ties with Canada.
- 13 May 2025 8:04 AM IST
No reference to trade in talks between top leaders of India, US during India-Pak conflict: Sources
There was no reference to trade in talks between top leaders of India and the US during the India-Pakistan military conflict, government sources said on Monday after American President Donald Trump claimed that he pressured New Delhi and Islamabad to stop hostilities by threatening to cut trade with both countries.
US Vice President JD Vance spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 9 but there was no reference to trade in the conversation, the sources said.
"After Operation Sindoor commenced, Vice President Vance spoke to the prime minister on May 9," a source told PTI.
"Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on May 8 and May 10 and to NSA (National Security Advisor) Ajit Doval on May 10. There was no reference to trade in any of these discussions," they said.
The source-based clarification came after Trump on Monday said he forced the two countries to stop the hostilities by using the trade card.
"I said, 'Come on, we're going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let's stop it. Let's stop it. If you stop it, we're doing trade. If you don't stop it, we're not going to do any trade'," Trump said at a press conference in the White House.
- 13 May 2025 8:03 AM IST
Rhetorical oration no substitute for discussion in Parliament: CPI(M) on PM's address
Dubbing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on Operation Sindoor a "rhetorical oration", CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby on Monday said it could not be a substitute to a structured discussion in Parliament.
In a series of posts on X, the CPI(M) general secretary said Modi made no mention of the people killed in cross-border shelling, courage of Kashmiris and their role in helping the Pahalgam attack victims, as well as the trolling of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
"In his rhetorical oration, the prime minister didn't find time to even mention those who were killed in cross-border shelling and about their families," Baby said.
"The prime minister did not mention a word about the courage of the Kashmiri people, their selfless role in helping the victims of the terrorist attack or their unequivocal condemnation of the attack. The prime minister failed to condemn the hate campaign and defend even the foreign secretary, who was trolled for being the government's voice," he said.
Democracy is not a one-way traffic, Baby said. "This oration cannot be a substitute for a structured discussion on the content of this statement in Parliament. The government remains answerable in a parliamentary democracy." In his first address to the nation after Operation Sindoor, the prime minister sternly warned Pakistan that India would not succumb to "nuclear blackmail" and sent a clear message to the world that terror and trade, terror and talks could not go together.
