India and Pakistan are withdrawing all of their diplomats from each other’s countries as the risk of nuclear war looms.

According to Vikas Swarup, the spokesman of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi has withdrawn eight diplomats stationed in Islamabad due to the escalating tensions between the two countries.

The Indian official said the main reason for the withdrawal was their identification in the local media as suspected spies.

“They have put in the public domain eight names and six of these people went today. We will eventually withdraw all eight,” Swarup said, adding that the diplomats had been “completely compromised” after their names and pictures were put in the public domain.

The decision came hours after reports said Pakistan had been planning the expulsion of five Indian diplomats on suspicion of espionage. They said Pakistani authorities had uncovered an alleged “network of Indian spy agencies” working at the Indian embassy in Islamabad and that they were awaiting an approval by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to expel a number of Indian diplomats.

Sources in Islamabad and New Delhi said on Wednesday that Pakistan had also withdrawn six of its diplomats from India.

Swarup confirmed that the Pakistani diplomats had left the Indian capital earlier in the day, rejecting claims in the media that they were expelled.

The diplomatic tension began last week when India ordered one employee of the Pakistani High Commission out of the country, saying he was a suspected spy. Islamabad reacted in a tit-for-tat move and expelled one of India’s envoys.

The two countries have also been at odds over the past months regarding the conflict in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The heavily-guarded area saw a protest by the majority Muslim population in July, when a popular pro-independence fighter was killed by Indian forces. India blamed the surge in unrest on Pakistan, saying Islamabad sent militants to the Himalayan region to trigger more violence. Cross-border clashes then unfolded between the two sides, resulting in dozens of casualties. The latest of such clashes beginning last weekend left nearly 20 people dead from the two sides. </s> ISLAMABAD (AP) — Two Pakistani officials and an Indian spokesman say Pakistan has withdrawn six of its diplomats working at the Pakistani embassy in New Delhi amid increasing tension between the two countries over the disputed Kashmir territory.

The two Pakistani officials said Pakistan has unearthed a “network of Indian spy agencies” working at the Indian embassy in Islamabad. They said authorities have sought Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s approval to expel some Indian diplomats.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

In New Delhi, Vikas Swarup, the Indian External Affairs Ministry’s spokesman, confirmed that six Pakistani diplomats flew back to Islamabad on Wednesday as after being withdrawn by their government.

Last week, each side expelled one of the other government’s diplomats as well. </s> Pakistan's foreign ministry said late on Thursday it has declared an Indian diplomat persona non grata and given him 48 hours to leave the country.

The diplomat was identified as Surjeet Singh, an official at the Indian High Commission, in a statement from the foreign ministry.

India said earlier on Thursday it would expel a Pakistani diplomat based in New Delhi who allegedly ran a spy ring that collected sensitive information about Indian security operations along its border.

The allegations come amid heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed arch-rivals over the disputed region of Kashmir. </s> ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and India on Thursday each expelled a diplomat from the other country in an exchange amid escalating tensions between the two South Asian archrivals over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

India announced earlier in the day that it expelled a staffer at the Pakistani Embassy in New Delhi after briefly detaining him for espionage activities.

Islamabad said the allegations against its diplomat, Mahmood Akhtar, were "false and unsubstantiated." Akhtar was told he had to leave New Delhi by Saturday.

Vikas Swarup, a spokesman for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, tweeted that India determined Akhtar was involved in espionage.

Ravinder Yadav, a New Delhi police official, said Akhtar, who worked at the visa section of the embassy, was found in possession of documents on the Indian troops deployed along the India-Pakistan border. Yadav said Indian security agencies had been tracking Akhtar's activities for the past six months.

"They detained him briefly for questioning and the documents were found on him," Yadav told reporter. Akhtar was released because of his diplomatic immunity.

Yadav said two Indian men, from the western state of Rajasthan bordering Pakistan, had been arrested for passing on information to Akhtar.

Later Thursday, Pakistan's foreign ministry announced it has asked Sujeel Singh, an official working at the Indian Embassy, to leave Pakistan for violating diplomatic norms.

It said Singh must leave the country also by Saturday, along with his family members.

Pakistani and Indian troops in recent weeks have frequently exchanged cross-border fire, causing casualties on both sides.

In the latest cease-fire violation, Indian troops killed a Pakistani woman and wounded seven people along the boundary with the Indian-controlled Kashmir, the military said, adding that Pakistan "responded to India's unprovoked firing and targeted Indian posts inflicting heavy casualties."

Associated Press writer Nirmala George in New Delhi contributed to this report. </s> Pakistan may expel five Indian diplomats for espionage and has revealed their names, local media said on Wednesday, a move sure to exacerbate a rift between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that has been widening for months.

Pakistan declined to comment on the matter ahead of a planned news conference on Thursday, while India said the identity of eight of its diplomats had been revealed by Pakistani media.

Vikas Swarup, spokesman of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, declined to comment when asked whether the eight diplomats stationed in Islamabad would be withdrawn.

Swarup also said six Pakistani diplomats had left the Indian capital on Wednesday but said they had not been expelled.

Last week India ordered one employee of the Pakistani embassy, known as a High Commission, to leave the country on suspicion of espionage, triggering the expulsion of one of its own envoys by Islamabad.

The diplomatic spat comes after months of sharply deteriorating relations that began with civil unrest in Indian-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan’s global lobbying against New Delhi’s crackdown on the Kashmiri activists.

In September a group of gunmen killed 19 Indian soldiers at an army camp in Kashmir, an attack India blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

India said it had carried out “surgical strikes” inside Pakistan as retribution, but Islamabad denied they even took place and accused New Delhi of fabrication to distract attention from its crackdown on the protests in the part of Kashmir it controls.

Artillery duels and skirmishing along the disputed frontier that runs through Kashmir have escalated in recent days, leading India to summon the Pakistani deputy high commissioner on Wednesday to express its “grave concern and strong protest”.

In a statement, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs accused Pakistan of violations of a 2003 ceasefire that have caused several fatalities and injuries among its civilians and security forces.

New Delhi also protested against the alleged mutilation of the body of an Indian soldier by an attacker who escaped across the Line of Control after “committing this heinous crime”.

Both sides typically refute the other’s version of events. On Wednesday the press wing of the Pakistani military said India had committed 178 ceasesfire violations this year, killing 19 civilians and injuring 80 more. </s> ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's Foreign Ministry says India is expelling a Pakistani diplomat in New Delhi after briefly detaining him on what it called "false and unsubstantiated charges."

In a statement, it said India on Thursday informed Pakistan's high commissioner, the top Pakistani diplomat in the country, that embassy staff member Mehmood Akhtar has until Oct. 29 to leave the country.

He said India determined that Akhtar was involved in espionage activities, a charge rejected by Pakistan.

Tension between the two nuclear-armed has spiked since last month over the territory of Kashmir, which is divided between the two sides and is claimed by both. </s> India said on Wednesday that the identities of eight of its diplomats in Pakistan had been revealed in the local media, amid continuing tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors.

Vikas Swarup, spokesman of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, declined to comment when asked whether the eight diplomats stationed in Islamabad would be withdrawn.

He also said six Pakistani diplomats had left the Indian capital on Wednesday, but that they were not expelled. India ordered one employee of the Pakistani High Commission out of the country last week on suspicion of espionage, triggering a tit-for-tat expulsion of one of its own envoys by Islamabad. </s> Reuters International

By Tommy Wilkes and Amjad Ali

NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - India and Pakistan on Thursday announced they would each expel one of the other's diplomats amid growing tension between the nuclear-armed arch-foes over the disputed region of Kashmir.

India said it would expel a Pakistani diplomat based in New Delhi who allegedly ran a spy ring that collected sensitive information about Indian security operations along its border.

Late on Thursday night, Pakistan's foreign ministry said it had declared an Indian diplomat, Surjeet Singh, persona non grata and given him 48 hours to leave the country.

Police in the Indian capital said the Pakistani diplomat was detained on Wednesday outside the gates to Delhi Zoo, where he had met two Indian associates whom police believe he had recruited to spy for him.

The Pakistani diplomat, who reportedly worked in Pakistan High Commission's visa section, and his alleged Indian accomplices were found with forged documents, defence-related maps, deployment charts and lists of officers working along India's border with Pakistan, Indian police said in a statement.

"There was high probability that the information passed on by these anti-national elements to PIO (Pakistan intelligence operative) is being used against the national interests and could be highly detrimental for national security," they said, adding they had been trying to break the spy ring for six months.

An Indian foreign ministry spokesman said the man, who was released from custody under diplomatic immunity rules, must leave the country by Saturday.

Pakistan's High Commission in New Delhi rejected the allegations, saying in a statement it "never engages in any activity that is incompatible with its diplomatic status".

Later on Thursday, Pakistan's foreign ministry announced it had declared Singh persona non grata and informed the Indian High Commission he had until Saturday to leave the country.

The statement said Singh was accused of activities "that were in violation of the Vienna Convention and the established diplomatic norms" but did not elaborate.

An aide to India's prime minister in New Delhi said the government was looking into the matter. India's external affair's ministry spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads since a group of gunmen killed 19 Indian soldiers in September at an army camp in Kashmir, an attack India blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

India said it had sent special commandos into Pakistan-controlled Kashmir to kill militants in a retaliatory operation that sharply soured relations between the neighbours.

Pakistan says the operation never happened and accuses India of inventing it to distract attention from its crackdown on protests in the part of Kashmir it controls.

Indian and Pakistani troops face off against each other along the de facto border in divided Kashmir - a region they both claim in full but control in part - and have exchanged fire several times this week in cross-border shelling.

(Reporting by Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Tom Heneghan and Toby Chopra) </s> ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani and Indian officials say Pakistan has withdrawn 6 of its diplomats from New Delhi amid increasing tension.
India and Pakistan each expel a diplomat from the other country as tensions grow over Kashmir.