Suspected ISI agent lured by Pak High Commission into espionage

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh's Additional Director General (ADG), law and order, Aditya Mishra on Thursday said that suspected Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agent Aftab Ali was lured into the network by Pakistan High Commission officials.

Mishra told media, "Ali was in touch with an official in the Pakistan embassy in Delhi. He had been allegedly approached by ISI operatives over the phone in 2014 after his visa to meet his relatives in Pakistan was rejected by the high commission three times."

Mishra informed that Ali had apparently confessed during the questioning that he got into spying as it helped him earn easy money.

A tip-off by Ali helped the ATS to arrest another ISI agent Altaf Bhai Qureshi from Mumbai.

"Qureshi was in the hawala trade and provided money to Ali for sharing crucial information with his ISI handlers," Mishra added.

Ali visited Pakistan twice since, in 2014 and 2016 respectively.

The ISI operatives also provided him with other facilities paid him some money when he was returning to India after a few months stay.

The suspects will soon be brought to Lucknow for further interrogation.

The arrest comes weeks after the Uttar Pradesh police had issued a warning of a possible attack in the state by ISI-trained agents.