India says will ‘explore all options’ to bring spy Kulbhushan Jhadav back

NEW DELHI: Spokesperson India’s Ministry for External Affairs Gopal Baglay resents that Government of Pakistan has denied over a dozen requests sent by the India seeking consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav – spy who was awarded death sentence in Pakistan a year after arrest over espionage and facilitating terrorism.

Addressing a presser on the issue, MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay claimed, ”Kulbhushan Jadhav has been falsely arrested in Pakistan. There are no proofs against him.”

Bagley, however, assured that the government of India will explore all options to bring Jadhav back.

Pakistan has not shared with us any details about Kulbhushan Jadhav’s well-being or the location where he is presently being kept, Baglay said.

”We are in touch with Pakistan through our High Commission,” Gopal Bagley said.

India and Pakistan also have a bilateral agreement on consular access, Bagley said while adding, ”India had discussed Jadhav’s kidnapping issue with Iran last year.”

The response from MEA came days after the government warned Pakistan that executing Jadhav will have serious “consequences” on the bilateral ties.

The death sentence awarded to Jadhav by a Pakistani military court after declaring him a spy echoed in both Houses of Parliament where all parties came together to condemn the “indefensible” verdict and pressed the government to take every step to help him.

In Parliament, the government as well as the Opposition, saw the capital punishment as an attempt to defame India and to deflect the attention of the international community from Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made a statement in both the Parliaments, asserting that India will go “out of the way” to ensure justice to Jadhav.

Jadhav’s execution will be taken by India as a “pre-meditated murder” and Pakistan should “consider its consequences” on bilateral relations, if it proceeds on this matter, Swaraj said.

Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was arrested in Pakistan for espionage and sabotage activities, has been handed down death sentence by the military court couple of days back.

The man, named by the army as Kulbushan Sudhir Jadhav who also goes by the alias Hussein Mubarak Patel, was arrested in Balochistan last year.

The Indian naval officer had confessed to committing and planning subversive activities inside Pakistan.