Kulbhushan Jadhav sentenced to death in Pakistan

Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a military court of Pakistan on 10 April 2017. He was accused of espionage and sabotage activities in Pakistan, mainly Balochistan and Karachi.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan in a release said Jadhav was arrested on 3 March 2016 in Balochistan’s Mashkel area for his involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan.

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Jadhav was awarded the death sentence after being tried under section 59 of the Pakistan Army Act (PAA), 1962 and Section 3 of official Secret Act of 1923 by the Field General Court Martial (FGCM).

Earlier, the Pakistani Army has also released a video in which Jadhav allegedly confesses to his involvement in terror activities in Balochistan at his country's behest.

About Kulbhushan Jadhav

• Jadhav an Indian Navy official was commissioned as the naval officer in 1991 and retired from the services in 2013.

• He was arrested by the Pakistani authorities allegedly for being associated with the freedom fighters of Balochistan.

• Allegations are there that he was an active Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) agent. However, the charge against him was denied by India. RAW is India’s external intelligence agency.

• Reports suggest that Union Government says that Jadhav was a small businessman and owns a cargo business in Chabahar, Iran. He has nothing to do with RAW and was abducted from Iran.

It seems that the decision of the military court of Pakistan would escalate the tensions between the two countries, namely India and Pakistan. On the day of sentencing, the Foreign Secretary Dr S Jaishankar summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit over the death sentence given by a Pakistani military court martial.

Besides, the Amnesty International also blasted Pak military court system for awarding of death sentence to Kulbhushan Jadhav, in Pakistan on the charge of spying.

Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director of Amnesty International, in a strongly worded statement said that military courts are an inherently abusive system that is best left to deal with issues of military discipline, not any other crime.