The Government of the Maldives has denied that communications made by Indian Ambassador to the Maldives, Akhilesh Mishra, and the Embassy were under surveillance.

The claims were first made by analyst Rajeev Sharma in India’s the Quint. The author claimed that Ambassador and the Embassy’s calls, both from landlines and mobile phones, were under surveillance.

Responding to the allegations, Home Minister Azleen Ahmed said that the Government would not engage in such actions and that rumors to that effect were false.

Sharma described the Ambassador as a caged parrot, having barred Ministers, Government officials, senior officials of ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) from meeting the Ambassador.

The article came amid soured relations between the Maldives and India, following the Government’s decision to hastily sign a controversial Free Trade Agreement with China.