New Delhi: Deported Pakistani spy Mehmood Akhtar has blown the cover of top Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) officers working out of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi potentially compromising their espionage activities in the country.
Delhi Police sources told CNN-News18 that Akhtar has disclosed the name of 10 ISI officers including Colonel Syed Farruq, his deputy Khadim Hussain, a Major Sahid Iqbal and a 'Deputy Director' Dr Mudassir Iqbal, who he said is the senior-most of all. When asked if these were from the ISI or the Army, Akhtar said, "it keeps changing".
Meanwhile, Akhtar returned to Pakistan on Saturday morning after he was declared a "persona non grata" by India. Akhtar along with his three family members arrived at Attari in Amritsar, Punjab, by road and after Immigration and Custom clearance crossed over to Pakistan at 11 AM.
Earlier, in a tit-for-tat move, Pakistan had expelled Surjeet Singh, an Indian employee working at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, for "conduct not in accordance with his diplomatic status". Singh is expected to return to India on Saturday.
Akhtar was released by Delhi Police Crime Branch after a brief detention owing to his diplomatic immunity. He had disclosed that he was working under Farukh Habib, Counselor (Trade), who he claimed was under deputation from Pakistan Military Intelligence. Police sources said that in fact Akhtar had arrived at the Delhi Zoo – from where he was nabbed – in Habib's official vehicle.
One of the prime contacts of Akhtar in India was Farhat, the personal assistant to Samajwadi MP Munawwar Hussein. Farhat has since been nabbed and the Rajya Sabha MP immediately sacked him, and informed Parliament officials to cancel his ID card.
Police sources said Farhat first came into contact with ISI through a Pakistan High Commission official code named 'NK' in 1998 when he had gone to the HC for visa. NK cultivated him and asked him to provide annual reports of Ministry of Science & Technology, Water Resources and Civil Aviation.
NK died in 2000 but before that he was handed over to a certain Rana Sagheer, who later introduced him to IP Shamshed. He was given specific amount per every meeting for handing over documents. After his tenure in India was over, Shamshed handed Farhat over to one Faiyaz, from whom Akhtar took over.
Earlier, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup while declaring him "persona non grata" had said that Akhtar had told the police that he had joined the Baloch Regiment of the Pakistan Army in 1997 and came on deputation to the ISI in 2013. He was posted in September 2013 to the Pakistan High Commission.
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