“So far, we have just statements about the involvement of the Indian spy in terror activities in Pakistan,” Aziz was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.
Pakistani media reported on Wednesday that Sartaj Aziz, the Foreign Affairs Advisor to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, at a closed-door full Senate chamber meeting almost absolved former Indian Navy officer Kuldhushan Jadhav of espionage charges. After repeatedly questioned by Senators on the progress of investigations against Jadhav and why they are not being shared with international community to fix India for destabilising Pakistan, Aziz reportedly said that additional evidence needed to be collected and that the dossier on Jadhav contained mere statements.
“So far, we have just statements about the involvement of the Indian spy in terror activities in Pakistan,” Aziz was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.
Aziz added that more evidence was needed, and that the United Nations had been given a dossier about the involvement of India’s external intelligence agency – Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) – in activities in Pakistan. “It (the dossier) did not have any conclusive evidence,” Aziz was also quoted as saying by Geo TV. “What the dossier contained was not enough. Now it is up to the authorities concerned how long they take to give us more matter on the agent,” he said.
Islamabad has used the arrest of Jadhav at every international forum to drum up support for its contention that India’s external intelligence agency, RAW, was fomenting terrorism in Balochistan. It has repeatedly briefed envoys of the European Union and the United Nations Security Council’s permanent members about Jadhav’s “subversive activities” in Balochistan. Pakistan Army had also released a “confessional video” of Jadhav, who said he was the serving Indian Navy officer. Jadhav’s Indian passport was in the name of Hussein Mubarak Patel.
India has repeatedly asked for consular access to Jadhav.
Family relieved
Residing in posh Silver Oak building in Hiranandani complex of Powai in Mumbai, Sudhir Jadhav, former ACP and father of Kulbhushan, termed the developments in Pakistan ‘extraordinary’ and said he is happy that the stain on his son has been finally erased. “Today is one of the best days in my life... I consider that the blot on the name of the family has been erased,” said Sudhir Jadhav.
“I am happy that Pakistan has declared that my son innocent. Hope that justice would be served to him soon,” said Jadhav.
Incarcerated since March 3
Jadhav has been imprisoned since March 3, without access to legal representation. India and Pakistan are both signatories to Article 36 of the Vienna Protocol on Consular Relations, 1963, which mandates that consular of any country “shall have the right to visit a national of the[ir] sending State who is in prison, custody or detention, to converse and correspond with him and to arrange for his legal representation”.
Iran has also launched investigations into the former Naval officer’s business operations in Chabahar port. Iranian investigators are probing whether Jadhav’s mechanised dhow Kaminda may have been used — with or without his knowledge — to run any alleged operation.
Earlier media had quoted certain Western sources saying that Jadhav had been kidnapped by the Taliban near Chaman, and sold to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence.
The government sources, while acknowledging that Jadhav was a retired Naval officer, had consistently denied allegation of his being a spy.
“We had consistently demanded consular access and had issued as many as six note verbales to the Pakistan foreign ministry. We never believed that he was a spy because had he been one, he wouldn’t have been carrying an Indian passport,” they said.
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