India has expelled another Pakistani High Commission official, marking the second such expulsion in just over a week. The move comes amid escalating tensions between the two nations following India’s cross-border strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), and subsequent military confrontations.

In a statement released Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the Pakistani diplomat was declared persona non grata for “activities not in keeping with his official status” and was ordered to leave India within 24 hours. While the MEA did not provide specific charges, sources indicate the expulsion is linked to an ongoing espionage investigation being handled by the Punjab Police.

This follows the May 13 expulsion of another Pakistani High Commission official under similar allegations. That earlier expulsion was reportedly tied to a case in which Punjab Police arrested two Indian nationals, including a woman, for their involvement in passing sensitive information to a Pakistani official in Delhi.

India has also issued a formal demarche to Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires, warning that no Pakistani diplomat or official in India should misuse their diplomatic privileges or status.

In response, Pakistan retaliated by expelling an Indian High Commission staffer from Islamabad, accusing him of “engaging in activities incompatible with his privileged status.” The Indian official was also given 24 hours to leave the country, reflecting a familiar tit-for-tat pattern between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

The diplomatic flare-up follows Operation Sindoorlaunched by India during the night of May 6-7. The operation targeted and destroyed nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, which killed 26 tourists. The Resistance Front, a proxy outfit of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the attack, marking one of the deadliest incidents since the 2019 Pulwama bombing.

Although both nations agreed to a ceasefire on May 10 covering land, air, and sea, the fragile truce was quickly broken by reported Pakistani violations, further deepening mistrust and triggering diplomatic fallout on both sides.