Pakistan conspiring to spoil India's image globally, says Kharge

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], Oct. 29 (ANI): Taking note of Pakistan's tit for tat declaration of sending Indian High Commission official Surjeet Singh back home, Congress party leader Mallikarjun Kharge said Islamabad is conspiring to spoil India's image globally. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged that while India was successful in providing incriminating evidence against the Pakistan embassy staffer's espionage activities against India, Islamabad on the other hand has failed to do so. "We nabbed him only after acquiring proper evidence against him. But Pakistan, just to get back at India, declared him (Singh) persona non grata without providing incriminating our official. The Pakistan government has always instigated its people, spreading the message that they are not mute spectators and are responding appropriately to every action. They are working to spoil the image of India in the international community and will do so in the future as well," Kharge told ANI. Pakistan on Friday officially announced Surjeet Singh, Assistant Personnel and Welfare Officer in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, to be persona non grata for his "activities that were not in the interest of the national security of Pakistan" and accused India of being involved in "terror financing" and "terrorist activities" in the state. "His activities were not in the interest of the national security of Pakistan. And secondly, we are all aware of Indian state-sponsored activities, state involvement in terrorism in Pakistan. Unlike India which does not have any proof, but they just level the baseless allegations against Pakistan, Pakistan has irrefutable proof of Indian involvement in terror financing and also terrorist activities in Pakistan," Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said in a press briefing. The development came a day after Indian authorities detained Mehmood Akhtar, an official of the Pakistan High Commission, on charges of espionage and later asked him to leave India within 48 hours. According to Indian officials, Akhtar was caught in possession of sensitive documents. (ANI)