Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav is an Indian – a former naval officer sentenced to death in Pakistan on charges of spying and acts of terror. He was apprehended in March 2016 during a counterintelligence operation in Balochistan in Pakistan. In April of this year, he was sentenced to death by a martial court; however, the execution was stayed by the International Court of Justice. Jadhav’s mother and wife were recently permitted to visit him. What does this mean? Is there any likelihood that Kulbhushan Jadhav will be released and allowed to return home?
Jadhav was charged and found guilty of waging war on Pakistan, spying for India, sponsoring terror and destabilizing the state by the Field General Court Martial (FGCM) of Pakistan. The verdict was based on an alleged confession. In the confession, he allegedly admitted visiting Karachi twice for gathering intelligence and also to supporting and funding Baloch militants on behalf of Indian intelligence agency RAW.
It is India’s position that the trial and sentencing was farcical and that India would treat his execution as first-degree murder. In May 2017, Indian authorities approached the International Court of Justice and Jadhav’s execution was stayed as a result.
On 25th December 2017, mother Avanti and wife Chetankul were permitted to him meet him in Islamabad. They were allowed to speak through a glass barrier via intercom in a meeting that lasted for 40 minutes. This, according to Pakistani authorities was a meeting permitted on ‘humanitarian grounds’.
According to Indian authorities, Jadhav was a former naval officer and had taken premature retirement to start his own business. He was working at Iran’s Chabahar port. The Indian claim is that Jadhav was kidnapped by Pak authorities from Iran and then brought to Pakistan. While India admits that he has served with the Indian navy in the past, he is not an Indian ‘agent’ of any sort following his leaving the navy.
Yesterday hashtags relating to Kulbhushan Jadhav were trending all day on Twitter. While Indians condemned the way that the family was not even allowed to meet properly or touch, there were also charges of visible torture in the form of a severed earlobe and neck bruises. It was also pointed out that he spoke to his family in English rather than his mother tongue Marathi, which was strange. This was widely viewed as a photo op and mere window dressing by Pak. #FreeJadhav was trending in India.
Tweets from the other side of the border were either self-congratulatory in nature or were scathing about Pak authorities being too lenient. For many Pakistanis, this incident was proof of Pak’s humanitarian and democratic credentials and a sign to the international community that due process was followed. For others, this was needless clemency shown to a ‘terrorist’; they were asking for prompt execution.
So, clearly public sentiment in Pakistan is such that the authorities of that country will have to act in a way that assuages the demands of the people. Not doing so would be seen as a sign of weakness.
In India, public sentiment is as strong; people want that Jadhav should be freed and allowed to return home. To this end, very many tweets were addressed to the foreign minister, the PM and other Indian authorities calling upon them to take action to save Jadhav.
While Pak said that the presence of the Indian Deputy High Commissioner at the meeting constitutes consular access, India denies this. Indian authorities will continue to try and get consular access to Jadhav to get him his freedom. The good news is that alleged spies are rarely executed for their activities. Pak also said that this was not the last meeting between Jadhav and his family. However, Pak is claiming that Jadhav is a terrorist with the blood of innocents on his hands.
It remains to be seen how and to what degree the International Court of Justice is able to intervene in the matter. The political climate prevalent in both countries at the time will also have bearing on the matter. As of now, Kubhushan Jadhav’s life hangs in the balance; his is a precarious, uncertain fate.
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