How Ex-Pakistan High Commission Staffer Danish Targeted YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra

While an investigation was going on into Jyoti Malhotra's Pakistan links, it came to light that the expelled Pakistan High Commission staffer Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish had during his tenure allegedly tried to recruit some two dozen such individuals in Delhi who had either applied for a visa to Islamabad or were relatives of the applicant, respectively.

Per a report in The Times of India citing a special branch officer, the Delhi Police had initially started looking into the matter after the intelligence wing's Pakistan desk had raised all alarm bells. Subsequently, all these 25 persons were separately grilled by the police, but finding no evidence against them, police had to let them off.

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High commission staffers' alleged actions of recruiting these people seemed not to have succeeded.

In addition, the investigation by Delhi Police has also revealed that contrary to assertions from the high commission, Danish was not a visa officer, but instead was an inspector-rank officer with the Pakistani intelligence agency, the ISI.

The ToI report cited a source and said, "He (Danish) was reporting to a senior ISI officer named Shoaib and was tasked with arranging Indian SIM cards, besides recruiting influencers. Danish's passport was issued in Islamabad, and he was granted a visa for India on January 21, 2022. As per his documents, Danish was born in Narowal in Pakistan's Punjab province."

Danish was declared persona non grata by India on May 13 for allegedly being involved in the collection of sensitive information and promotion of pro-Pakistan narrative.

Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra was arrested last week on charges of espionage purportedly for her links with Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs). During interrogation, she admitted having been in contact with Danish from November 2023 to March 2025.

Authorities were suspicious of the expelled high commission staffer of being actively engaged in the development of Malhotra as an intelligence asset. Police officials stated on Wednesday that Malhotra was knowingly contacted by the PIOs, but there is no evidence that ties her up in terror activities or associations with known terror outfits, according to HT.

Pakistan high commission and acts of espionage

Malhotra was arrested among 12 persons by the Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh police in appearance of Pak spy activities.

The Pakistan high commission is said to have a history of being linked to espionage activities.

Agents of ISI build their network through placement in the high commission, following which they are rotated among the different postings within the office, ToI reported.

The interrogation of the Pakistani intelligence officials (PIOs) has established that ISI inducts army officers and gives them training to spy before sending them to the high commission under fake identities and with fake passports.

With the help of visa applicants, the PIOs identify and lure vulnerable army or paramilitary personnel for quick and easy visas.

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An official said that these candidates for visas help the PIOs get Indian SIM cards, which are then used to contact the recruits.

In May 2020, one such attempt to strike was foiled by Delhi police's special cell, aided by military intelligence, after two so-called visa officers were found to be ISI agents.

Abid Hussain and Tahir Khan were named, declared persona non grata, and sent out of the country. After this, the number of people in the Pakistan high commission dropped from 180 to 90.

Later in 2021, a sting operation revealed that a Pakistani visa officer at the high commission was actually working for the ISI.

Reports say that in 2016, ISI officer Mehmood Akhtar was caught pretending to be a visa official at the high commission.

Two of Akhtar's Indian friends were caught, but he had to be let go because he was a diplomat. In 2013, ISI hired him and sent him to work at the Pakistani high commission in Delhi.

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