New Delhi: Amidst the furore over the death sentence awarded to alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav by the Pakistan military court, Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi Abdul Basit established his stand on the former and categorically said that he was indeed a terrorist.
“It’s a proven fact that India carries out terrorist-driven activities in Pakistan. And when a terrorist himself has accepted he was a spy, the Indian Government is having issues. We haven’t done anything wrong in giving the sentence to Jadhav. He should meet his fate,” Pak TV channel TV quoted Basit, as saying on Tuesday.
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Basit was summoned on Monday to protest at the conviction and sentence. India also said that Pakistan had ignored its multiple requests for consular access to Jadhav.
India also issued a demarche against Pakistani military court for awarding death sentence to Jadhav.
Earlier on Tuesday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Jadhav was the victim of a plan that seeks to cast aspersions on New Delhi to deflect international attention from Islamabad’s well-known record of sponsoring and supporting terrorism.
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Asserting that India’s position on this matter was clear, Swaraj said 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’s well-known record of sponsoring and supporting terrorism. Under these circumstances, we have no choice but to regard the sentence, if carried out, as an act of pre-meditated murder,” she added while expressing her concern on this issue in the Rajya Sabha.
The External Affairs Minister further said Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar conveyed India’s position to Basit on Monday.
“Let me state clearly that the Government and people of India would view very seriously the possibility that an innocent Indian citizen is facing death sentence in Pakistan without due process and in violation of basic norms of law, justice and international relations. I would caution the Pakistan Government to consider the consequences for our bilateral relationship if they proceed on this matter,” said Swaraj.
“I would also like to tell the House that I have been in touch with the parents of Shri Jadhav and we are extending our fullest support to them in this difficult situation. A strong sense of solidarity expressed by the House will give them more courage at this time,” she added.
Jadhav, who was arrested in March last year by Pakistan and accused by the country of spying, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court yesterday.
The move has sharply escalated tension between India and Pakistan.