Daily Times

In a weekly press briefing, the Foreign Office Spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, on Thursday shed light on the recent arrest of Indian spies in Qatar, emphasising this as concrete evidence of New Delhi’s involvement in espionage and sabotage networks operating in various countries, especially in the Middle East and other regions.

Baloch underscored Pakistan’s longstanding concerns about the Indian sabotage network and espionage activities. She also noted reports of death sentences handed down to Indian Navy officers in Qatar, which had sent shockwaves through India’s Ministry of External Affairs. The foreign office spokesperson pointed to the 2016 arrest of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, a senior Indian Navy officer, on charges of sabotage and espionage within Pakistan, as a significant example of such activities. Qatar’s recent court verdict sentenced eight former Indian Navy officials to death for serious espionage charges, accusing them of spying for Israel and working for the Indian intelligence agency, RAW. They were reportedly caught carrying out espionage activities in Qatar, providing Israel with details of Qatar’s secret programme to purchase advanced submarines from Italy. Furthermore, Baloch mentioned the continued atrocities committed by Indian forces in the occupied region of Kashmir, leading to casualties among Kashmiri civilians.

On the topic of deportation of illegal aliens, Baloch informed the media that the implementation of a plan aimed at repatriating illegal immigrants from Pakistan had commenced in recent days. She clarified that the repatriation plan specifically targets migrants living in Pakistan without proper documentation and does not encompass refugees. The interior ministry is investigating reports of alleged mistreatment of Afghan nationals, she added. Baloch also strongly condemned the ongoing Israeli military actions in Gaza, referring to them as intolerable and tantamount to war crimes. Baloch urged the international community to intervene and halt the ongoing genocide in occupied Palestine, emphasising the need for the United Nations to advocate for an end to the siege, cessation of bombing, and the opening of humanitarian corridors.

The FO spokesperson shared that the interior ministry is addressing the issue of 12,000 counterfeit passports recovered in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabian authorities recently disclosed the recovery of over 12,000 Pakistani passports from Afghan nationals, allegedly procured through multiple passport centers operating within Pakistan. The Ministry of Interior has constituted a high-level committee to scrutinise the matter.

On other diplomatic matters, Baloch mentioned that Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar is scheduled to attend the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) conference in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on November 8-9. During the conference, the interim PM will present Pakistan’s vision for the future of the ECO and mutual engagement.

The press briefing highlighted Pakistan’s concerns and actions on various international issues, underlining the nation’s commitment to address matters of regional and global importance.