ISLAMABAD, 6 August 2006 — Pakistan yesterday ordered an Indian diplomat to leave the country and India reciprocated with a tit-for-tat expulsion in a new setback to the already troubled peace process.
Pakistani Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said that Deepak Kaul, counsellor at the Indian High Commission (embassy) in Islamabad, was “caught indulging in practices incompatable to his status.”
“We have asked that he should be withdrawn from Pakistan by the beginning of next week,” she said.
A security official said the diplomat had exchanged “sensitive” documents with an unidentified man.
Kaul, a visa officer, was on his way to the Wagah border yesterday morning when he stopped his car and exchanged documents with the man, the security official said.
He added that Kaul was brought back to Islamabad and handed over to the Indian Embassy who were “explained the circumstances leading to his detention.”
Kaul must leave the country within 48 hours.
India lodged a protest with Pakistan and within hours announced the expulsion of a Pakistani diplomat, Syed Muhammad Rafiq Ahmad, who held the rank of councillor at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi.
India gave no immediate reason for Ahmad’s expulsion.
An Indian Embassy official here said that Kaul was held for several hours before the authorities were informed.
“He was taken out of his car, blindfolded and kept under detention for several hours before the embassy was informed,” the official said.
The tit-for-tat expulsion was the first since the two countries launched a slow moving peace process about two years ago. The rivals last expelled diplomats in February 2003.
It comes amid tensions between the two countries since the July 7 bombings of rush-hour trains in Bombay that killed more than 200 people.
After the blasts, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh accused “elements from across the border” of helping the Bombay attackers. Pakistan denied any involvement in the blasts and offered to help in the investigation.
Political analyst Talat Masood, a retired army general, described the development as “very disturbing for the peace process.”
“It shows a lack of confidence in the two countries,” he said. “It is also very unfortunate if Kaul was caught red-handed.”
Masood said the expulsions indicate that “the peace process was not steady and stable.”
Another political analyst Hasan Askari, the former head of the political science department at the prestigious Punjab University, echoed that, saying that “this incident is likely to put further strains on the already troubled peace process.”
Indian analysts felt the developments reflected mutual mistrust.
“This shows a fraying of the trust and confidence that was being put in place in a very incremental way between the two countries from 2004,” said Indian security expert Uday Bhaskar.
“Much of the deterioration started after the Bombay blasts. We seem to be going back to a phase when the political relationship was not exuding much resilience and trust.”
Masood, however, advised the leadership in the two countries to take steps to prevent a “downward spiral” of the peace process.
— With input from AFP
