India, Pakistan Expel Envoys as Ties Worsen
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NEW DELHI — India and Pakistan staged tit-for-tat expulsions of their top diplomats Saturday, deepening a chill between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
A total of 10 diplomats were ordered out of the countries, which have fought three wars and were close to starting a fourth last year over the Kashmir region.
Among those expelled by India was Jalil Abbas Jilani, Pakistan’s top diplomat in New Delhi. India accused him of funneling money to Muslim separatists in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Four other Pakistani diplomats also were ordered to leave.
The expulsion order came two days after two Kashmiri political activists were arrested in New Delhi and accused of acting as conduits for funds between the Pakistani Embassy and Islamic militant groups fighting to end Indian rule in Jammu and Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state.
Police said Jilani had personally given about $6,000 to one of the activists, Anjum Habi, whom they described as a member of a group affiliated with the All Party Hurriyat Conference, the main umbrella group for separatist organizations in Kashmir.
Pakistan denied the allegation and answered the Indian action by ordering acting Ambassador Sudhir Vyas and four other Indian diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours.
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