India slams Pakistan tit-for-tat action

New Delhi: India on Friday condemned Pakistan’s action in resorting to a tit-for-tat expulsion of Indian high commissioner staffer Surjeet Singh in Islamabad late on Thursday evening soon after India had declared Pakistan High Commissioner staffer Mehmood Akhtar — caught red-handed by the Delhi Police in an espionage case — persona non grata and had asked him to leave the country by October 29.

Ministry of external affairs (MEA)  spokesperson, Vikas Swarup, had earlier hoped on Thursday that Pakistan would not resort to a tit-for-tat expulsion but that was not to be as Islamabad retaliated.

New Delhi said there were absolutely no grounds for Pakistan’s action and termed it an “afterthought” after the Pakistani staffer was caught in the espionage case. In another development, Pakistan’s director-general summoned Indian deputy high commissioner J.P. Singh on Friday.