India, Pakistan Expel Visa Officers As Spies

India and Pakistan have expelled each other’s visa officers, accusing them of spying, an official said Wednesday.

The move follows an earlier round of explusions and comes after India and Pakistan began talks to end 50-year-old disputes that have spoiled ties between the neighboring nations.

Pakistan’s diplomat in New Delhi, Murad Baluch, was ordered to leave Monday, hours after Islamabad expelled an Indian visa officer, said Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Raghav Bal Madhekar.

Madhekar said Pakistan’s claim that Indian officer Surjit Chaudhury indulged in “activity incompatible with diplomatic status” was a “total fabrication.”

Islamabad had no official reaction to the Indian move.