Top US experts have expressed concern over Pakistan’s decision to give death penalty to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav. Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director and senior associate for South Asia at the prestigious Woodrow Wilson Center said, Pakistan may want to use Jadhav as a trump card to get some type of major concession from India.
Alyssa Ayres, a former senior State Department official in its South and Central Asia Bureau said, apart from the gross irregularities, such as the lack of consular access and the secrecy surrounding the surprise court-martial, is the contrast between the speed of Jadhav’s trial set against the endless postponements for that of the Mumbai attackers.
Bharat Gopalaswamy, Director of South Asia Center at the
Atlantic Council, said the conviction seems to be politically motivated in order to counter India’s aggressive diplomacy against Pakistan in combating terrorism.
Jadhav, was awarded the death sentence by military Field General Court Martial under the army act for his alleged involvement in espionage. The death sentence was confirmed by Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.
