Kulbhushan Jadhav, is evidence of India’s terrorism in Pakistan: Pak Foreign Office - The Islamabad Telegraph is a current-affairs magazine for the Asia-Pacific, with news and analysis on Geopolitics, Security and Foreign Affairs across the region.

The Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch stated in a weekly media briefing that the arrest of Indian spy commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was found involved in espionage and subversive activities in Pakistan, is evidence of India’s repeated involvement in terrorism in the country. Pakistan desires peace in the region and with all its neighbors, including India, and expects India to take steps to create an environment that facilitates dialogue on all disputes, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir. The spokesperson rejected any suggestion that Islamabad was involved in terrorism, calling recent Indian comments on this matter unwarranted and baseless.

Baloch also addressed the upcoming Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers Conference in India, saying that Pakistan is committed to regional cooperation and will play a role in strengthening and the success of the SCO. Negative statements and developments could not deter Pakistan from playing its part in the organization, of which it is an equal member.

Regarding the evacuation of stranded Pakistanis from Sudan, the spokesperson informed that 847 Pakistanis have been evacuated from Khartoum to Port Sudan, and some have been transported to Jeddah, while others are being moved to Jeddah on ferries operated by the Saudi government. Pakistan is grateful to friendly countries in the region, especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for facilitating this process by providing transport and hosting Pakistani nationals until their repatriation to Pakistan.

Pakistan passes bill to give relief to ‘Kulbhushan Jadhev?

According to the Pakistani military, an Indian naval officer named Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was arrested in March 2016 in Baluchistan on charges of espionage and sabotage, has been sentenced to death. Pakistani military officials claimed that Jadhav was running a clandestine terror network within the province and participating in various activities meant to destabilize the country. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs had protested the announcement, stating that if the sentence is carried out, it would be considered as premeditated murder. The Pakistani military maintains that Jadhav was a foreign agent and spy who was tried through a Field General Court-Martial, which is reserved for heinous crimes involving foreign agents and spies. This decision had further strained the already tense relations between India and Pakistan.

Panel passes bill to review Kulbhushan Jadhav ‘s conviction

It is important to note that the confession and subsequent death sentence of Mr. Jadhav have been disputed by the Indian government, which maintains that he was a retired naval officer who was kidnapped from Iran and falsely accused of spying. The Indian government has repeatedly requested consular access to Mr. Jadhav, which Pakistan has denied.

The case has been a source of tension between India and Pakistan, with India appealing to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to intervene. In 2019, the ICJ ruled that Pakistan had violated the Vienna Convention by denying consular access to Mr. Jadhav and ordered Pakistan to review and reconsider his death sentence. However, Pakistan has yet to comply with the ICJ’s decision and Mr. Jadhav remains in custody.

The case of Mr. Jadhav highlights the complex and longstanding tensions between India and Pakistan, particularly with regard to their intelligence agencies and their activities in each other’s territories.

In 2020, Pakistan’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice passed a government bill on Wednesday evening to investigate the conviction of Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a military court for alleged involvement in espionage.

Farogh Naseem, Minister of Law and Justice, told the members of the Committee that the bill, entitled “International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Order,” had been adopted in accordance with the guidelines of the International Court of Justice ( ICJ).

Naseem claimed that, in the event that the bill was not adopted by the Parliament, Pakistan faced potential penalties for failing to comply with the decision of the ICJ.

Naseem said that his ministry had tried to “prevent a potential Indian move” from filing a contempt petition against Pakistan in the ICJ by promulgating an ordinance, and clarified that neither India nor Jadhav had filed a petition before the Islamabad High Court seeking relief under the ICJ verdict.

He said that his ministry had to file a petition for the appointment of Jadhav’s counsel, which is awaiting adjudication.

Opposition parties opposed what they said was a bid to give relief to Jadhav, calling it an NGO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) to persons charged with espionage.

It is said that the NGO was set up by former President Pervez Musharraf to provide relief to politicians who had been charged during a time of military rule in Pakistan.

Aliya Kamran of the JUI-F group accused then Imran Khan administration of having legislated on behalf of New Delhi. She requested that the bill be addressed in public until it was approved.