India warns Pakistan of consequences if Kulbhushan Jadhav is hanged, Sushma Swaraj says 'don't proceed further'

A day after Pakistan's military court pronounced a death sentence to former Indian Navy officer Kulbushan S Jadhav, India on Tuesday warned the neighbor country of consequences to bilateral ties if they proceed further.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said: "I would caution the Pakistan government to consider the consequences for our bilateral relationship if they proceed on this matter."

There is no evidence of any wrongdoing by Kulbhushan Jadhav. This is an act of premeditated murder, Swaraj further said.

The Minister also assured the House that India would 'go out of the way to save him'. "Will go out of the way to save him, wo poore Hindustan ka beta hai," she tweeted.

"Hindustan ke iss bete ko bachane ke liye acha vakeel khada karna toh bohot chhoti baat hai, hum President tak bhi baat karenge," Swaraj said in another Tweet.

Earlier on Monday, Pakistan Military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a statement sentencing Jadhav to death for carrying out espionage and sabotage activities in Balochistan and Karachi.

Immediately after the news broke out, India's foreign secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit and issued a strongly-worded demarche stating that if Pakistan hangs Jadhav India will consider it a "premeditated murder".

"If this sentence against an Indian citizen, awarded without observing basic norms of law and justice, is carried out, the Government and people of India will regard it as a case of premeditated murder," it said.  
 
The Ministry of External Affairs termed the whole proceeding 'farcical' and said: "The proceedings that have led to the sentence against Shri Jadhav are farcical in the absence of any credible evidence against him. It is significant that our High Commission was not even informed that Shri Jadhav was being brought to trial."

Not only the government but other political parties have also reacted very strongly and demanded that India should raise the matter at the international level.

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that India should raise the matter at the international level as Pakistan has violated the Geneva convention by denying consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav.

"There are countries who have financed Pakistan. They should be told that if this thing has happened to an Indian national today, it can happen to their national as well. This is a serious matter. We should take it up as world forum as well," Tharoor said.

To which Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Indian government will do whatever possible for Kulbhushan Jadhav. "Want to assure all that justice will be done with him," the Home Minister said.