Jhadav case and Indian excuses

The Indian military and intelligence services have been infiltrating specially-trained and psychologically-motivated terrorists to inflict losses on Pakistan’s polity, economic infrastructure and create divisions in the society by exploiting religious weaknesses and ethnic fissures. The name Kulbhushan Jadhav has a special place among terrorists and saboteurs in the region. His notoriety in Pakistan knows no bounds.

The Indian terrorist has himself confessed about his association with RAW. During his video confession screened on TV, the Indian agent had revealed that his country was sponsoring and orchestrating terrorism and separatist movements in Balochistan to sabotage CPEC, firmly corroborating what Pakistan had earlier mentioned in the dossiers presented to the UN Secretary General and the US government.

Likewise, the Indian External Affairs Ministry had officially acknowledged the bona-fide status of Kulbhushan Jadhav as an Indian citizen working in Iran. Similarly, a senior Indian naval officer accepted the fact about the Indian Navy loaning this particular naval officer to RAW during 2013. The picture of the Indian officer, his identification number issued by the Indian Navy, a copy of his Indian passport and Iranian visa were made public in the past.

Recently, India claimed Jadhav was coerced in refusing his case review. It said Pakistan's persistent claim that Indian national Jadhav – sentenced to death by an army court for spying – has refused a review of his case and wanted to appeal for mercy "in a brazen attempt to scuttle even the inadequate remedy under the (Pakistani) ordinance. Pakistan has obviously coerced Jadhav to forego his rights to seek an implementation of the judgment of the ICJ (International Court of Justice)." That however is not the case.

Attorney General for Pakistan Irfan Ahmed has clearly stated that Jadhav was given the freedom to file a review petition on 17 June. But he preferred to follow up on his pending mercy petition.

It should be noted that as per the ICJ decision, Pakistan has provided a chance to review the case and consular access to Jadhav. On 20 May this year, Pakistan passed an ordinance to allow the Islamabad High Court to review the sentence awarded by the military court to Jadhav.

Irfan revealed that on June 17, Jadhav was “invited” to file a review petition in the Islamabad High Court against his sentence, but chose not to do so and instead, “preferred to follow-up” on his pending mercy petition.

He also said that they had written repeatedly to the Indian High Commission to file a review petition on behalf of terrorist Jadhav. Pakistan had also offered India consular access to Jadhav for a second time.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has rejected Indian lawyer Harish Salve’s contention that it hadn’t complied with the ICJ's verdict in Jadhav case, and described his allegations as baseless and inaccurate.

Salve, who was India’s lead counsel during the hearing of Jadhav’s case at the ICJ, said that Pakistan hasn’t responded to several overtures from the Indian side to free the former naval spy-terrorist on humanitarian grounds. Salve also said Pakistan has not complied with the court’s ruling to stay Jadhav’s execution and review his conviction. But Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui responded by saying Pakistan rejected the “baseless and inaccurate” remarks by Salve.

“Pakistan has fully complied with the judgment and remains committed to continue doing so as the case proceeds further,” she said. She explained that Pakistan has granted India consular access to commander Jadhav and is processing measures for effective review and reconsideration as per the guidelines provided by the ICJ in its judgment.

As it is, Indian footprints in Balochistan have been confirmed by the Pakistani state at the international level. It is known that India had been orchestrating sectarian and political violence and sabotage activities across Pakistan, from erstwhile Fata to Gwadar and to the streets of Karachi, but the arrest of the RAW spy, a serving officer of the Indian Navy, had caught the Indian establishment with its pants down. The exceptional breakthrough of its kind provided the hard evidence and the connection about the Indian involvement in destablising Pakistan.