Kasuri to India Today: Kulbhushan Jadhav not singled out

Defending the judgment against Kulbhushan Jadhav, former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri today said their judiciary is independent and even Pakistanis have been tried under the same law.

"Pakistanis have been tried under the same law. Not that Pakistan has been singling him (Jadhav) out," Kasuri told India Today's Karan Thapar in his show 'To The Point'.

Since the case dealt with espionage and sabotage it was kept secret and there is nothing exceptional about it, he said.

When asked about Pakistan denying consular access to Jadhav, whose whereabouts and well-being has not been communicated to India, he stressed that it is not necessary in case relating to terrorism or espionage.

However, according to the Vienna convention there are no exceptions and even India and Pakistan have a bilateral agreement to give consular access.

"In many cases they (courts) have summoned military officers...They do interfere even in military trials if they feel, not on evidence, but if on a technicality they feel that there has been a gross miscarriage of justice or the law has not been followed. If the law has been followed the court will not interfere," he said.

On Indo-Pak ties, he said the relations are crisis prone and there will always be crisis when you decide to talk.

He said the courts of Pakistan are so independent that a judge of Supreme Court was presiding over a bench and his life was threatened when Salman Taseer's murderer was tried and hanged.

"These judges have so much authority and power that they can resist even their own death threats," Kasuri said.

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