India warns Pakistan after army court sentences Jadhav to death 

Pakistan's powerful army chief on Monday approved the execution of alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav after a military court found him guilty of “involvement in espionage and sabotage activities” against the country, a development that could further strain India-Pakistan ties.

The death sentence to Jadhav, 46, was confirmed by army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa after the Field General Court Martial (FGCM) found him guilty of “all the charges”, said the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

“The spy has been tried through Field General Court Martial under Pakistan Army Act and awarded death sentence,” it said and added that the FGCM found Jadhav “guilty of all the charges”.

According to the ISPR statement, Jadhav, a Commander in the Indian Navy, “confessed” before a Magistrate and the court that he was “tasked by RAW to plan, coordinate and organise espionage/sabotage activities aiming to destabilise and wage war against Pakistan by impeding the efforts of Law Enforcement Agencies for restoring peace in Balochistan and Karachi.”

Meanwhile, firstpost.com reported that Jadhav did have three properties in Mumbai under the name of Hussein Mubarak Patel. The report goes on to say, “This revelation from Jadhav or Patel's neighbour has added a new twist to the claims made by Pakistan. Incidentally, Pakistan Army had claimed that he (Jadhav or Patel) was in possession of multiple fake IDs and was operating under the alias of Hussein Mubarak Patel, with an Indian passport of the said name.

India issues demarche to Pakistan High Commissioner

Following the news reports from Pakistan about Jadhav’s execution, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar summoned the Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit on Monday and handed over the following demarche:

“We have seen the ISPR press release today regarding Shri Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian citizen, who has been awarded a death sentence by a Pakistani military court martial.

1. Shri Jadhav was kidnapped last year from Iran and his subsequent presence in Pakistan has never been explained credibly. The Government of India, through its High Commission in Islamabad, has repeatedly sought consular access to him, as provided for by international law. Requests to that effect were formally made 13 times between 25 March 2016 and 31 March 2017. This was not permitted by the Pakistani authorities.
2. 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. Senior Pakistani figures have themselves cast doubt about the adequacy of evidence. The claim in the ISPR release that Shri Jadhav was provided with a defending officer during the so-called trial is clearly absurd in the circumstances.
3. 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.”

Jadhav was “arrested” on March 3 last year by Pakistani security forces in the restive Balochistan province with Pakistan claiming that he “entered” from Iran. Pakistan has alleged that Jadhav was “a serving officer” in the Indian Navy and deputed to the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).

The Pakistan Army had released a “confessional video” of Jadhav after his arrest.

India has acknowledged that Jadhav served with the Navy but denied he has any connection with the government. “The individual has no link with government since his premature retirement from Indian Navy,” the External Affairs Ministry had said in a statement in March last year.

India had demanded Consular access to Jadhav, but Pakistan repeatedly denied Indian officials access to him.

The ISPR statement, however, said Jadhav, alias Hussein Mubarak Patel, was “provided with defending officer as per legal provisions”.

Pakistan army's decision on Monday is expected to further strain the ties between India and Pakistan. The two countries have been at loggerheads over several issues, including on Pakistan's support to terrorism, since the terror attack on an Indian army base in Uri in Kashmir in September last year by Pakistan-based militants killed 18 Indian soldiers.

Ten days later, India launched “surgical strikes” against militant “launchpads” in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

With NH Web Desk inputs

A paragraph about ‘Jadhav having three properties in Mumbai under the name of Hussein Mubarak Patel’ was added at 20.51 hrs