Trading goods v/s trading secrets

India blamed Pakistan for risking the lives of Indian diplomats by putting out their pictures and details in the public domain, on Thursday. In a vindictive move in which Pakistan had to recall six of its staffs, who were tagged 'undercover agents' by another staff Mehmood Akhtar, Pakistan Foreign Office in Islamabad alleged that eight Indian 'diplomats' in Pakistan were members of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Indian Intelligence Bureau (IB); they were even accused of being involved in terrorist and subversive activities. The allegations were completely rejected as "baseless and unsubstantiated" by the External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson, Vikas Swarup.

Interestingly, it has been revealed that, commercial counsellors in both the missions, who were supposed to supervise promotion of trade relations between the two countries, are crooks. While Akhtar confessed that Pakistan's commercial counsellor, Farooq Habib, was actually station chief of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), in retaliation, Pakistan blew cover of Rajesh Kumar Agnihottri, India's commercial counsellor, who was a RAW station chief.

Others working for India, who were declared by Pakistan FO Spokesman Nafees Zakaria as working for RAW are, Anurag Singh, First Commercial Secretary, Amerdeep Singh Bhatti, Attache Visa, Dharmendra Sodhi, staff, Vijay Kumar Verma, staff, and Madhavan Nanda Kumar, staff. Two more officials, Balbir Singh, First Secretary press and information, and Jayabalan Senthil, Assistant Personnel Welfare Officer, were accused of working for the Intelligence Bureau (IB). Asked whether they will be recalled, Swarup said it was a procedural matter, but admitted that their lives have been endangered by such allegations. It now seems to be a matter of time until they return, after their cover was blown up. He also said, since they were working in visa sections, Pakistani actions will impact people-to-people and trade and economic contacts and corresponding activities of the High Commission.

He said the allegations against the Indian officials represent an "after-thought" and a "crude attempt" to target them after a Pakistan High Commission staff was caught red handed last week here, indulging in anti-India activities. Pakistan claimed Indian officials were involved in "espionage, subversion and supporting terrorist activities in Balochistan and Sindh, especially Karachi, sabotaging China Pakistan Economic Corridor, and fuelling instability in the two provinces".

Swarup also said that Pakistan was in complete denial of the problem and was deflecting its responsibility by resorting to "fanciful accusations". On Pakistan's allegations of ceasefire violations by India along the LoC, he said that, neither do Indian forces initiate ceasefire violation nor do they target civilians. The MEA spokesperson said, approximately two-thirds of the ceasefire violations by Pakistan this year, have taken place in the last five weeks. "In fact in several districts along the International Border and Line of Control, normal life has been affected, people have been displaced and over 100 schools have been closed," he said.

In Pakistan, the so called leak about Indian undercover agents is one of the most significant exposé relating to undercover agents since the US Central Intelligence Agency was forced to pull out its Station Chief Jonathan Banks, in December 2010, after his identity was revealed in a law suit by victims of drone attacks.