India issues demarche to Pak High Commissioner on Kulbhushan Jadhav sentencing
Excerpts from the demarhce:
1. We have seen the ISPR press release today regarding Shri Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian citizen, who has been awarded a death sentence by a Pakistani military court martial.
2. Shri Jadhav was kidnapped last year from Iran and his subsequent presence in Pakistan has never been explained credibly. The Government of India, through its High Commission in Islamabad, has repeatedly sought consular access to him, as provided for by international law. Requests to that effect were formally made 13 times between 25 March 2016 and 31 March 2017. This was not permitted by the Pakistani authorities.
3. The proceedings that have led to the sentence against Shri Jadhav are farcical in the absence of any credible evidence against him. It is significant that our High Commission was not even informed that Shri Jadhav was being brought to trial. Senior Pakistani figures have themselves cast doubt about the adequacy of evidence. The claim in the ISPR release that Shri Jadhav was provided with a defending officer during the so-called trial is clearly absurd in the circumstances.
4. 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.
On Monday, the media quoted Pakistan's foreign affairs advisor Sartaj Aziz alleging that Kulbhushan Jadhav was involved in "subversive and terrorist activities in Pakistan".
On the other hand, tweeted Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, the Official Spokesperson of the Pakistan Armed Forces, "Indian R&AW agent #Kalbushan awarded death sentence through FGCM by Pakistan Army for espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan."
NDTV reported that officials at the Indian high commission told the news channel that they were not formally informed of the development by the Pakistani government; they learnt about it from a press statement in which Pakistan claims that Kulbhushan Jadhav "confessed" to spying and sabotage activities in Balochistan.
India acknowledged Kulbhushan Jadhav as a retired Indian Navy officer but denied that he was in any way connected to the government, according to media reports.
Image: AIRNews Twitter
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