Pakistan sentences alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav to death- India reacts angrily

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A military court in Pakistan on Monday has sentenced to death an Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav on grounds of spying and stoking violence in Balochistan. Pakistan had Kulbhushan Jadhav in March 2016. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav was tried through  FGCM (Field General Court Martial) under the Pakistan ArmyAct (PAA) and was awarded the death sentence. India has reacted angrily to the verdict and called it as a “premeditated murder” saying that basic norms of law and justice were ignored during the trial.

Indian R&AW agent #Kalbushan awarded death sentence through FGCM by Pakistan Army for espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/ltRPbfO30V

— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) April 10, 2017

In response to the verdict, India has handed over a demarche to the Pakistani high commissioner Abdul Basit and described the court proceedings as “farcical” as there was no credible evidence against him. India also postponed the release of several Pakistani prisoners, scheduled for Wednesday.

Kulbhushan was arrested in Balochistan, last year. He was accused of being a RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) agent who was trying to wage a war against Islamabad. He was charged with fuelling the Baloch separatist movement and attempt to destroy the $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Shortly after the arrest, Pakistan had released a video in which Kulbhushan was seen admitting that he was an Indian spy.  In the video, he confessed that he was in the Indian navy and arrived in Iran in 2003. The chief of army staff of Pakistan Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa confirmed the death sentence of Kulbhushan.

ISPR said that Kulbhushan Jadhav has confessed before the magistrate and the court that RAW had asked him to make plans, coordinate and organise sabotage activities which would destabilise and wage war against Pak by hindering the efforts of restoring peace in the regions of Balochistan and Karachi.

India has acknowledged that the man in the video is an Indian national but said that he is not a spy. India has strongly condemned the verdict and is trying everything to save Kulbhushan.

Indian ministry has consistently sought consular access to Kulbhushan and has issued as many as six note verbales to the Pakistan foreign ministry. A note verbale is an unsigned diplomatic communication which forcefully reminds the receiving nation of its diplomatic obligations.

Despite many formal requests, India has been denied consular access and was not told about Jadhav’s trial.

 
India said that Jadhav is not a spy because if he was a spy then he would not keep an Indian passport with him. Jadhav held a passport and an Iranian residency permit in the name of Hussain Mubarak Patel.

Amnesty International which is Global human rights watchdog has also condemned the death sentence. It released a statement which said that Pakistan’s military court has not made public any information about the charges or the evidence against the suspect.

Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif said that the death sentence will serve as a warning to those who are involved in terrorism against Pakistan. He further said that Kulbhushan came to Pakistan with approval from India and blamed India for sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan.

Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan’s foreign policy adviser told the upper house of Parliament last December that dossier on Kulbhushan Jadhav contained mere statements and they didn’t have any conclusive evidence against him. Hours later, Pakistan contradicted the statement.

Pakistan had been accusing India of spreading terrorism in Balochistan but has failed to produce evidence to back their claims. India had hit back at Pakistan by highlighting the abuse of human rights in the region by Pakistan forces.

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