Asif says no concession, as India says to defend Jadhav

• Defence minister says Indian agent can appeal against his punishment within 60 days
• Sushma says India to provide best SC lawyer to naval officer, to contact president

Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Tuesday said that Indian spy Kulbushan Sudhir Jadhav, who was arrested in Pakistan, was tried under the law and awarded capital punishment by fulfilling all legal requirements.

In a statement in the upper house of the parliament, he said that the Indian agent had himself confessed his involvement in anti-state activities in Pakistan on the behest of Indian government. “Kulbushan was involved in espionage and terrorism within Pakistan and had deep links with anti-state elements in Balochistan and Karachi in executing terrorist activities to destabilise Pakistan,” he said.

He said that Jadhav was under trial for the last more than three months and had confessed during investigation that he was an Indian state actor and had links with elements within Pakistan on behest of Indian government to carry out anti-state activities for destabilising the country.

He had been awarded capital punishment under the law and would have the facility to appeal against his punishment to the army chief within 60 days and thereafter to the president, Asif said. “With sentencing Kulbushan to death, Pakistan has sent a loud and clear message that whenever anybody would espionage against Pakistan from abroad or from within our territory, the law will take its course with full force,” he said.

He said that Pakistan was strong enough to deal with an iron hand with those involved in anti-state activities and conspiracies to destabilise it. He said that Indian response on the issue was also given a matching response by Pakistan’s High Commissioner in New Delhi.

Asif said the enemies of Pakistan within the country and abroad must be well aware that people, the government, and the forces along with civilian institutions were fully alive to defence of the country and protecting national integrity.

He said it was an extraordinary situation for the country for its 200,000 forces were deployed along the western border and 80,000 along the Line of Control to defend its boundaries. He said that the Pakistani military personnel, Rangers and civilian population had been victim of terrorism and the government was committed to safety and security of its people.

He dispelled the impression of pre-meditated murder of the Indian government, saying all rules and laws were followed in Kulbushan’s case. “However, what happened in Indian Gujrat, Samjhota Express and Kashmir is pre-meditated murders sponsored by India,” he said. He said that India had always been conspiring against Pakistan’s integrity through proxy war and through firing along borders.

In New Delhi, India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told the parliament that India would spare no effort to save Kulbhushan Jadhav, the former naval officer awarded the death sentence by a military court in Pakistan for espionage and sabotage.

After speaking in the Lok Sabha, Sushma walked up to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, requesting him to help draft the resolution to be adopted by both Houses of the parliament. After seeking permission from his party’s leader, Tharoor readily agreed.

In her statement to the Indian parliament that asserted the charges against Jadhav were ‘concocted’, Sushma said that he had been ‘kidnapped’ from Iran. “India was ‘denied’ consular access to him despite several requests, which showed that the case against him was weak,” she claimed.

Earlier this year, “the Pakistan government sought our assistance to obtain evidence and other materials for the investigation process. In doing so, they levelled ‘ridiculous’ charges against senior Indian officials, who had no connection to this issue. Thereafter, they linked providing consular access to our acceptance of their position,” she said.

“Nevertheless, in the hope that some forward movement could be made, our response was constructive. We pointed out that consular access to Shri Jadhav would be an essential pre-requisite in order to verify the facts and understand the circumstances of his presence in Pakistan,” he said.

Asserting that there would be consequences on the bilateral relationship if Pakistan were to proceed on the matter, Sushma claimed that there was no ‘evidence of wrongdoing’ by Jadhav. “If anything, he is the ‘victim’ of a plan that seeks to cast aspersions on India to deflect international attention from Pakistan,” she said.

To a suggestion made by Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, the minister said that the government would ensure that Jadhav was provided the best of lawyers in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and take up the matter at the level of the president of Pakistan too.

“Whatever is necessary, we will do,” she said, adding that Jadhav was not only the son of his parents, but was the son of India. Earlier in the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the government would do everything possible to get justice for Jadhav.

Defence Minister Asif also apprised the House that Pakistan won’t be part of any sect’s alliance. He said that Raheel Sharif has not yet applied for a No-Objection Certificate (NOC). “If a former army officer wants to leave the country after two years, then he can apply for an NoC,” he said, adding that when the former army chief will get the certificate, the House will be informed.

The minister said that Pakistan was trying to address the reservations of Iran, adding that the country has centuries-old relations with it. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Sudan, Malaysia, Egypt, Yemen and other Muslim countries are said to be part of the coalition. The Joint Command Centre, headquarters of the military alliance, is located in Riyadh. -SHAH NAWAZ MOHAL/AGENCIES