New Delhi, May 13, 2025 — In a significant diplomatic move, India has expelled a Pakistani official stationed at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, declaring him persona non grata for engaging in activities inconsistent with his diplomatic status, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Tuesday.
The official has been ordered to leave India within 24 hours. The expulsion is part of a broader series of retaliatory measures taken by India following the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians, including 25 Indian tourists and one Nepali national.
India has blamed the attack on the Islamic Resistance Front (IRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, accusing Islamabad of supporting cross-border terrorism.
In the aftermath, India has taken multiple steps including:
1. Suspending the Indus Waters Treaty
2. Halting visa services for Pakistani nationals
3. Closing the Attari–Wagah border crossing
4. Expelling several Pakistani diplomats
Pakistan has responded by suspending the 1972 Shimla Agreement, closing its airspace to Indian aircraft, expelling Indian diplomats, and halting trade with India.
The expulsion of the Pakistani official highlights the escalating diplomatic standoff between the two countries as both sides remain entrenched in retaliatory measures after the deadliest civilian attack in India since the 2008 Mumbai terror strikes.
