NEW DELHI: Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday assured lawmakers that New Delhi would go “out of its way” to save sentenced spy Kulbhushan Jadhav from death row in Pakistan.
Calling Jadhav “a son of India”, Swaraj issued a warning to Pakistan saying, “I would caution the Pakistani government to consider the consequences for our bilateral relationship if they proceed on this matter.”
“Our position is very clear, there is no evidence of wrongdoing by Kulbhushan Jadhav,” Swaraj told the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament. “This is an act of premeditated murder,” she said, referring to the death sentence handed to the Indian spy by a Field General Court Martial on Monday.
Swaraj assured parliamentarians that the government would not stop at just ensuring Jadhav has the best of lawyers to fight his case in the Supreme Court, but would “go out of the way to save him”.
Sushma Swaraj slammed the death sentence as “an indefensible verdict” and warned Pakistan to “consider the consequences” of the case on its relations with India.
It is worth mentioning that after the arrest of Kulbhushan Jadhav, India disowned him as a RAW agent.
Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured the opposition, “Basic norms of law and justice were violated. I want to tell the house that the government will do whatever it takes to make sure Kulbhushan Jadhav gets justice.”
The Opposition Congress urged Prime Minister Modi to mount diplomatic pressure on Pakistan to secure the release of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistan military court.
“Death sentence is a deliberate provocation to India. BJP Govt needs to travel beyond advisories. PM must intervene to secure his release ,” Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted.
He said India needs to immediately mount an international diplomatic offensive to free Jadhav, for “espionage and sabotage activities” in Pakistan’s Balochistan province and Karachi city.a
