Pakistan is not able to quit its old habits: Venkaiah Naidu on Kulbhushan Jadhav

Dubbing the death sentence awarded to Kulbhushan Jadhav by the Pakistan military court as 'pre-meditated murder', Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on 11 April said it is extremely unfortunate that Islamabad is not able to quit its old habits.

Asserting that Pakistan did not conduct a fair trial for Jadhav, Naidu said that the Asian neighbour assumed charges against the Indian national as it did not have any evidence against him.

"Pakistan's behaviour shows that it's a pre-meditated murder. Neither they submitted any evidence in the regard nor a fair trial happened in the regard. They just presumed things and gave the verdict," said Naidu.

"Pakistan is not able to quit its old habits and this is very unfortunate. The world is watching this and will condemn this step of Islamabad," he added.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today said that Jadhav is the victim of a plan that seeks to cast aspersions on New Delhi to deflect international attention from Islamabad's well-known record of sponsoring and supporting terrorism.

Asserting that India's position on this matter is clear, Swaraj said there is no evidence of wrongdoing by Jadhav.

"If anything, he is the victim of a plan that seeks to cast aspersions on India to deflect international attention from Pakistan's well-known record of sponsoring and supporting terrorism. Under these circumstances, we have no choice but to regard the sentence, if carried out, as an act of pre-meditated murder," she added while expressing her concern on this issue in the Rajya Sabha.

Swaraj said that Jadhav was doing business in Iran and was kidnapped and taken to Pakistan.

"The exact circumstances are unclear and can only be ascertained if we have consular access to him. Accordingly, from the time his abduction was known, our High Commission in Islamabad has continuously pressed Pakistani authorities for such access. Although this is provided for by international law and is deemed a norm in international relations, the Government of Pakistan did not permit it. That itself should tell us much about the strength of the case against Shri Jadhav. Hon'ble Members would also recall that a senior Pakistani leader has himself expressed doubts about the adequacy of evidence in this case," said Swaraj.

Stating that the Pakistan Government sought India's assistance to obtain evidence and other materials for the investigation process, she informed that in doing so, they levelled ridiculous charges against senior Indian officials who had no connection to this issue.

"Thereafter, they linked providing consular access to our acceptance of their position. Nevertheless, in the hope that some forward movement could be made, our response was constructive. We pointed out that consular access to Shri Jadhav would be an essential pre-requisite in order to verify the facts and understand the circumstances of his presence in Pakistan," said Swaraj.

"Given this exchange, it is extraordinary that yesterday, a decision is suddenly announced awarding a death sentence in this case when previous exchanges with India itself underlines the insufficiency of evidence. To make matters even more absurd, three hours after the death sentence was announced, the Indian High Commission received an official communication from the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan reiterating the Pakistani proposal for conditional consular access. That tells us a lot about the farcical nature of the alleged proceedings which have led to an indefensible verdict against an innocent kidnapped Indian," she added.

The External Affairs Minister further said Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar conveyed India's position to Pakistan's High Commissioner Abdul Basit yesterday.

"Let me state clearly that the Government and people of India would view very seriously the possibility that an innocent Indian citizen is facing death sentence in Pakistan without due process and in violation of basic norms of law, justice and international relations. I would caution the Pakistan Government to consider the consequences for our bilateral relationship if they proceed on this matter," said Swaraj.

"I would also like to tell the House that I have been in touch with the parents of Shri Jadhav and we are extending our fullest support to them in this difficult situation. A strong sense of solidarity expressed by the House will give them more courage at this time," she added.

Jadhav, who was arrested in March last year by Pakistan and accused by the country of spying, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court yesterday.

The move has sharply escalated tension between India and Pakistan.

Basit was yesterday summoned to protest at the conviction and sentence. India also said that Pakistan had ignored its multiple requests for consular access to Jadhav.

-ANI