It appears, so far, that Pakistan’s military leadership remains unwilling to change the country’s ideological orientation. The Islamists remain important allies of the military in maintaining the country’s status as an ideological state as well as to emphasise India’s status as an existential threat to Pakistan. – Husain Haqqani in his book Pakistan between Mosque and Military, Carnegie International, 2005
Kulbhushan Jadhav, a Bharatiya, who was reportedly arrested on March 26, 2016, has been awarded the death sentence by the Field General Court Martial (FGCM) under the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) for espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan. He was ‘tried’ under Section 59 of PAA, 1952, and Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923. This has again opened up the possibility of heated exchange between the two neighbours and a clear statement by the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj that the act would be considered as a ‘premeditated murder’ and Pakistan should be ready to face the consequences is indicative enough.
The arrest and subsequent trial is so fishy and farcical that it raises many questions about the intention of Pakistan. It does not stand on any legal and moral ground. Firstly, no spy is officially owned by any government and Pakistan which is covertly governed by military and its secret agency knows this better. Contrary to this basic rule, High Commissioner of Bharat sought consular access to him 13 times in a period of one year. The Pakistani authorities denied the permission and after the so-called trial and conviction, they are still not disclosing the whereabouts of a Bharatiya citizen which makes the scenario murkier. A statement by German envoy that Kulbhushan was “the Indian spy recently arrested in Balochistan was actually caught by Taliban and sold to Pakistani intelligence”, add another angle to the story.
Secondly, though a person, under espionage charges, is not covered under any international conventions and protocols, a treatment to a foreign national certainly has a code in human rights convention. But we cannot expect from a State like Pakistan to follow any moral standards.
Another important aspect pertaining to this case is why a retired naval officer of Bharat is tried in the Pakistan’s military courts that are considered a sham by many in Pakistan itself. The confession released from the Pakistani side is perhaps the weakest link in this process as it has no sign of a revealations by a spy. When Pakistan considers Bharat as the existential enemy, then all these questions of jurisprudence are immaterial.
Pakistan has a long history of flouting laws and subverting human rights. The recent call by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to declare Pakistan’s direct action in the then East Pakistan killing thousands of its own citizen as Genocide is exemplary enough. For a while Baloch nationalists are making the similar allegations.
Then the real questions are why Pakistan is playing this card now and how to deal with it. Pakistan brought this surprise element to deal with Bharat’s policy of isolating and neglecting Pakistan. Especially, in the Western world, it is unofficially considered a ‘terrorist state’ which losing credibility on all counts. This is also believed to be Pakistan’s premptive act to hide the arrest of Mohammad Habeeb Zahir, the retired Lt Colonel of the Pakistan Army who disappeared from Lumbini near Nepal’s border with India and now suspected to be in Indian custody.
The only option to deal with such a troublesome neighbour is to come with a bigger surprise. Modi government is known for aggressive and innovative approach in all spheres of governance, especially in foreign policy. The Kulbhushan issue has provided an opportunity to go for another surgery to sort out the unjust neighbour and bring it to the path of justice.
@PrafullaKetkar
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