New Delhi today cautioned Islamabad of consequences in bilateral relations if Pakistan stuck to implement the death sentence to the former Indian Navy Officer Kulbhushan Jadhav.
In a suo motto statement made in both the Houses of Parliament, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj described the decision of the Pakistani court as a pre-mediated murder and asserted that there is no evidence against Jadhav. She said, Jadhav was doing business in Iran and was abducted there and handed over to Pakistan.
She said, after that New Delhi was denied conditional consular access to Jadhav despite several requests. She said, even a senior Pakistani leader had also expressed doubts about the adequacy of evidences against the Indian citizen.
The Minister said, this is an attempt by Pakistan to deflect the international attention from its own well-known records of sponsoring terrorism. She said India will leave no stone unturned to save the Jadhav’s life and even go out of the way and if needed talk to Pakistani President on the issue. Mrs Swaraj said she is in touch with Jadhav’s family, met his parents thrice and talked to them six times.
Earlier, during question hour in the Lok Sabha, leaders from different parties expressed anguish over the incident and demanded that the government should take every possible step to save Jadhav. M. Thambidurai of AIADMK, Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor both Congress, Asaduddin Owaisi of AIMIM and Prof. Sougata Roy of Trinamool Congress, among others, who raised the issue.
In the Rajya Sabha, Naresh Agrawal of the Samajwadi Party raised the issue and wanted that the government should clarify its stand in the House. Senior Congress leader A K Antony said Pakistan should be strongly told about the consequences. Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad the Pakistani court’s decision is aimed at tarnishing India’s image.
