ISPR released a press release on Monday to confirm death sentence to Indian Raw agent, Naval Officer Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav alias Hussein Mubarak Patel. He was arrested on 3 March 2016 from Mashkel, Balochistan through Counter Intelligence Operation. He was involved in sabotage activities against Pakistan to destabilize the peace and law situation in the country.
DG ISPR, Major General Asif Ghafoor has also confirmed in his tweet that Kulbhushan has been awarded death sentence through Field General Court Martial (FGCM) by Pakistan Army. He was tried under section 59 of Pakistan Army Act (PAA) 1952 and Section 3 of Official Secret Act of 1923.
Jadhav was provided a defending officer as per legal provisions. He confessed his involvement and coordination in plans by India’s premier spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) to organize such activities in Karachi and Balochistan which could disturb peace around the country.
India’s Reaction
India has shown a quite vigorous reaction over this issue and has termed it as premeditated murder. India has summoned Pakistan’s High Commissioner to New Delhi Abdul Basit saying, “If this sentence against an Indian citizen, awarded without observing basic norms of law and justice, is carried out, the government and people of India will regard it as a case of premeditated murder.”
A clear contradiction has been shown by India’s Ministry of External Affairs according to its statement, “the proceedings that led to the sentence against Jadhav are farcical in the absence of any credible evidence against him”.
According to resources Kulbhushan is a Navy commander, was posted at Chabahar port in southeastern Iran, where he lived with his wife and two children and possessed a genuine Indian passport but with a fake name.
The bilateral relations between Pakistan and India seem to suspend after death sentence to Jadhav. General Qamar Javed Bajwa mentioned that his target was to halt China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He had said “If intelligence or an armed forces officer of this rank is arrested in another country, it is a big achievement”.
General Bajwa got huge appraisal and public support for this daring act to confirm death sentence to spy involved in spreading violence across the country. Pakistan Federal Minister for Defence Khowaja Asif said that the state would not compromise on its integrity and those fueling terrorism within country will be dealt with iron hand. He added that Indian agent Kulbhushan Yadav’s confession is a public document. A confessional statement was aired earlier by ISPR in which he admitted his involvement in terror activities in Balochistan and Karachi. It is an open prove that Indian government was sponsoring Kulbhushan.
Pak India Bilateral Relations
Pak India ties have got worse after India blamed Pakistan for an attack on Indian military camp in Uri inside Indian held Kashmir on Sept 18, 2016 where around 20 Indian soldiers were killed. Frequent episodes of firing initiated by India have also been reported by Pakistan Military across the Line of Control (LOC). Many innocent civilians including children, women and adults have also been reported dead during these unprovoked firing events. On contrary, India claimed it carried out surgical strikes in Pakistan’s territory across the control line on 29 September 2016, which was rejected by Pakistan as baseless.
It is to remember that there has been no date announced yet for Yadav’s execution.