India expels half the staff in Pakistan’s embassy for spying

India said on Tuesday they are planning to expel half the staff in Pakistan’s embassy in New Delhi over what it said was spying by officials there.

“They have been engaged in acts of espionage and maintained dealings with terrorist organizations,” the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.

India has expelled two Pakistani diplomats on May 31 after they were held for alleged spying, claims Islamabad said were “baseless”.

Relations between the nuclear-armed rivals are strained and counterstroke expulsions of diplomats, often on charges of espionage, are common.

Both the countries have a permanent ambassador in place and in the last month, each has accused the other of the illegal detention and torture of diplomats.