Thaindian News

Lahore, Mar 26(ANI): As many as 331 American officials, most of whom are suspected of being engaged in espionage under diplomatic cover, have been identified to leave Pakistan as part of a deal reached between relevant officials of both countries in exchange for the release of CIA contractor Raymond Davis.

Pakistani authorities have agreed that these US officials would not be declared ‘persona non grata’ if they leave the country voluntarily within a stipulated time, The Express Tribune reports.

This is part of the secret US-Pak deal, which is also said to include a substantial increase in aid, weapons and mandatory scrutiny of all persons seeking diplomatic immunity.

Previously, Pakistan was almost ready to summarily expel these Americans- who have various levels of diplomatic immunity- as most of them were issued Pakistani visas without getting prior No-Objection Certificates (NOC) following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), revealed sources that were familiar with the matter.

According to the SOPs, all embassy and consulate staff working under different diplomatic covers- such as contractors, consultants, technicians and administrative staff- are required to be vetted by relevant officials before visas are issued to them.

Intelligence officials said that Pakistani authorities had been trying to “trap someone to expose the cover of these consultants and technicians in front of the world community and Pakistani people”.

With the help of this achievement, Pakistan has successfully neutralised operatives of ‘friends’ (allies in the war in terrorism) involved in anti-state activities against the country’s sovereignty.

The report said that Pakistan has devised “an adequate response policy to counter the severity of our friends’ reaction”.

An official privy to these developments said that most of the suspected persons on the list were “involved in suspicious activities, including photographing and filming of sensitive installations like air bases (Warsak, near Peshawar and Multan), defence bunkers along the Pakistan-India border near Lahore, recruiting persons supporting their activities and launching local people for suspicious activities by offering lucrative benefits”.

Sources familiar with the issue said that the Raymond Davis case had firmly established the veracity of some Pakistani authorities who insisted on stopping “out-of-context additions” of diplomatic immunity in Pakistan. (ANI)