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Madhuri Gupta’s Pakistan Connection: Myth or Reality
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November 25, 2011
Pakistan and India’s relations have always been rock-strewn. India never considered Pakistan as an independent entity and started its covert spy games against Pakistan soon after the independence from British Raj. Both countries fought many wars and still they are passing through tough times. There are many unresolved issues between both nuclear powers. Suspicion and trust deficit arose with passage of time. Last year a Indian diplomat Madhuri Gupta was arrested in India for allegedly spying for Pakistan.

The Indian court recently heard the case of former Indian diplomat Madhuri Gupta for allegedly working for Pakistan’s intelligence services. Delhi court will pronounce on December 7 its order on framing of charges against her. If she is convicted then she might face three to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment under the harsher provision of Official Secrets Act (OSA) of India.

The Official Secrets Act 1923 is India's anti-espionage act held over from British era. It states clearly that any action which involves helping an enemy state against India. It also states that one cannot approach, inspect, or even pass over a prohibited government site or area. According to this Act, helping the enemy state can be in the form of communicating a sketch, plan, model of an official secret, or of official codes or passwords, to the enemy. The disclosure of any information that is likely to affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, or friendly relations with foreign States, is punishable by this act. It is a possibility she will be given tough sentence to avoid such incidents in future. According to Indian law, under Section 3 of the Act, passing information related to defence carries a maximum jail term of 14 years while those not amounting to work of defence carries a jail term of three years. According to Gupta, she passed only open sourced information, if this is true then she might face only three years of imprisonment otherwise she will face more than 10 years in prison if the information she provided was related to defense matters. But keeping in mind her position in the Indian consulate, it is unlikely she had passed any sensitive defence related information.

Madhuri Gupta was a second secretary with the Press and Information at Indian High Commission in Islamabad. She was arrested on April 22, 2010 by the Special Cell of Delhi Police. It was alleged that Madhuri Gupta revealed certain classified information to Pakistani intelligence officials and was in touch with two ISI officials, Mubashar Raza Rana and Jamshed. Indian government sources say Madhuri Gupta had been spying for Pakistan since September 2008. According to a senior officer in Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), “We have reasons to believe that she was not recruited inside Pakistan,”. “Possibly she was picked up and nurtured either in Baghdad or Kuala Lumpur where she was posted earlier.”


The Indian police have filed over 700-page charge sheet and annexure before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja sought the prosecution of the Indian Foreign Service Group B officer under various provisions of the Official Secrets Act and the Indian Penal Code. Police has cited 30 witnesses to buttress the charges against Gupta.

According to the charge sheet, filed in July last year by Indian authorities, she had an affair with Jamshed, whom she planned to marry. She used to communicate with Jamshed who had a code name 'Jim'. According to Indian officials she had also visited Jammu and Kashmir in March last year on the instructions of Rana to procure the Annual Plan Report of the state. Rana wanted information on the proposed 310 MW hydro-electric power project to be set up in the state by 2020.

This is just one side of the story and we do not know the other side of the argument. Indian intelligence agencies are expert in making such fabricated stories to tight noose against Pakistan. It is also a possibility that might be part of systematic propaganda against Pakistan’s ISI by Americans and now India is also playing its role in it by putting such fictitious stories.

There is dichotomy in the Indian claims, on one side they say that she passed very sensitive information and should be given severe punishment but on the side they believe that she passed only fractional information. The Indian Intelligence Bureau investigator says the only sensitive material that ex-diplomat has managed to pass on to Pakistan concerned “partial information on India's strategic plans in Afghanistan.” According to Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur, "The position occupied by the official did not involve access to highly classified material”. Indian police has also claimed that there is no evidence to suggest that Madhuri Gupta passed on any vital information to Pakistani agencies. It is a possibility that most of the information she gave were personal details of the Indian High Commission staff, such an information is not vital for Pakistan. Because keeping in mind old strife with Pakistan, India will never carryout any malicious activity from Islamabad that might embarrass Indian Government.

It is an open secret that both countries keep 24/7 vigilance on the movement of mission staff. However, it is more secure for India to carry out its covert mission from Afghanistan than from Pakistan.

According to Indian police officials, Madhuri Gupta was not a senior officer and could not have passed on sensitive information to her contacts in Pakistan where she was posted in the Indian High Commission. But she said she had revealed the identities of Indian undercover agents in Pakistan. This statement is also ambiguous, if she had no access to sensitive information, how can she know the whereabouts of Indian undercover agents in Pakistan. However, this type of blame game will never end between India and Pakistan. It is imperative for both countries to realize this fact that such malpractices would destabilize the whole region. This is the time to mend difference, bridge gaps, build trust and promote friendship, only then we can promise a better future for our coming generations.

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