External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna termed the arrest of an Indian diplomat based in Islamabad a “serious issue” whereas Pakistan said it was India’s “internal matter”.
Speaking to newspersons just before the inauguration of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit on Wednesday, Mr. Krishna advised the media to wait till the investigations were completed and the government examined the issue in detail.
“Investigations are going on. We will have to wait till the investigations are complete and then find out what was the motive and what was the modus operandi,” said Mr. Krishna.
“It is a serious issue. That's the reason why she was called back and is now under police custody,’’ he added. Madhuri Gupta, Second Secretary at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, was remanded to police custody on Tuesday on charges of spying for a Pakistani intelligence agency.
“The MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) is doing the investigation. Once we get all the reports, what needs to be done will be done by the Government of India,” observed the Minister.
Pakistan declined to weigh in on the issue, saying the issue was an “internal matter” of India. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit told newspersons that there was no official communication from the Indian Government so far and they had only media reports to rely on.
Hours after the arrest of Ms. Gupta in New Delhi, the Foreign Office had acknowledged that the investigating agencies had prima facie found her involvement in espionage. “We have reason to believe an official at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad had been passing on information to Pakistan intelligence agencies. The matter is currently under investigation. The official is cooperating with our investigations and enquiries are on,” Foreign Office spokesperson Vishnu Prakash had told newspersons here on Tuesday.
Ms. Gupta had worked at the Indian Council of World Affairs in Delhi and served two stints at the United Nations. At the Indian High Commission in Islamabad she was associated with relatively non-sensitive work.
