- Jadhav, the spy, has become the pivot of animosity ridden Pak-India relations
He is no Bond, James Bond. There are no martinis, no blondes, no gadgets, no swanky cars in sight. All there is this bald guy called Kulbhushan Jadhav confessing his doings and undoings. The female leads in ongoing saga are his ravaged wife and white-haired mother. They make for a sombre real life drama rather than a thrilling, action packed flick. The spy called Jadhav is on death row as his fate dangles loosely before International Court of Justice.
Spies, dearest sirs and ma’ams, are frauds who brim with confidence in the ability to fool anyone for the greater good of their states. The very nature of their job demands deception, cheating, lying and use of all means to assimilate amidst enemy sans detection. Their tasks may vary from obtaining vital information to planning and executing debilitating attacks. Spies and their shenanigans date back to the antiquity. Being a spy is largely a thankless job as their successes are nameless and failures prove murderous. And as and when they falter, there is no redemption from the fall. Once caught, they are paraded as proof of foul play on adversary’s side. Ultimately, robbed of their identity and reduced to the status of a prop, the captured spy is hanged till death or meets his end in captivity.
Kulbhushan Jadhav, the Indian spy, first made it to the limelight after his arrest in March, 2016. The whole Pakistani and Indian media went haywire in the beginning. After the initial hullabaloo, the frenzy smouldered but didn’t vanish. I still recall the ministry of foreign affairs’ weekly press briefing held the following week of Jadhav’s arrest.
During Jhadav episode, our government and decision makers showed maturity as they didn’t break off ties or ruled out talks with India
Mr Nafees Zakaria, then MOFA spokesperson, a soft-spoken, always smiling gentleman was looking unusually happy when I met him before the briefing. I tried to resist asking but failed. ‘Sir, you look elated today,’ I blurted out ‘anything special?’ Mr Zakaria chuckled before donning his diplomat persona and said that all Pakistan has been alleging India of has been vindicated. ‘The capture of serving Indian navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav is proof of India’s involvement in the separatist movement in Balochistan, fanning extremism, and sponsoring terrorism in length and breadth of Pakistan,’ he told the packed to capacity hall of ministry of foreign affairs later.
During Jhadav episode, our government and decision makers showed maturity as they didn’t break off ties or ruled out talks with India. Like a fully responsible state we recorded our protest on all the relevant forums and asked India to stem its undue and unwarranted involvement in terrorist activities inside Pakistan. We, as far and as forcefully as we could, showed the world that Pakistanis are capable of presenting their case before world with all its might, main and mind.
Alas, to the world it was just another episode of where we, the Midnight’s Children, were at each other’s throat once again. And the way things look, are condemned to repeat the Sisyphean cycle of hate and fear. In the Jadhav fiasco, both Pakistan and India found another opportunity to teach each other an ‘unforgettable lesson’. Congratulations to the bombastic, tech-savvy, saffron-clad Shri Modi ji and stubble brandishing, serious looking PM Abbasi for enjoying the ringside view of endless fight that has consumed many ‘Udaas Naslain’ (Weary Generations) with its appetite not even half diminished.
And since tit-for-tat is the supreme principle on which both neighbours depend in all things fair and foul. Let us wrap our heads around how it all unfolded. When India took the case to ICJ, the legal minds of our land opined, and there was near consensus among them, that Pakistan better question the ICJ’s jurisdiction in the first place. In addition it should prepare a legal team of top minds to fight the case. However, what conspired at International Court of Justice was a bit of the surprise.
There is little solace to be drawn from holding our foreign office for all that went south. Things of such magnitude don’t happen overnight. There is no denying that Pakistan is bound by international law and conventions it has ratified. It is yet to be seen that how Pakistan gets back in the game by the nomination of former Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani as ad-hoc judge in Kulbhushan case. Hopefully, the non-political appointment of Justice Jillani will bode well.
In the meantime, brace yourself for the deafening noise from various channels, relentless repetition of same pictures and clips, the pitched battles in twitter sphere armed with hashtags #HangJhadav and #SaveJhadav, Armageddon in Facebook feed loaded with expletives-filled rants, clueless hosts cementing public opinion on live talk shows.
Happy New Year, dearest sirs and ma’ams. May this year bring the people of India and Pakistan the catharsis they so desperately crave.