Will do everything possible to get Kulbhushan Jadhav justice: Rajnath Singh

With a united opposition raising the issue of death sentence given to alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav by the military court in Pakistan, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on 11 April assured the Lok Sabha that the Centre would do everything possible to ensure that the former gets justice.

Condemning the death sentence, Singh told the Lower House that how Jadhav can be a spy when he had a valid Indian visa.

He also took on Pakistan for denying consular access to Jadhav.

"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," Singh said.

"Countries that finance Pakistan should realize that Pakistan can do this to them too," he added while hinting at the United States.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister 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.

On the other hand, the Congress warned the Centre that if Pakistan hangs Kulbhushan then it's a murder.

"If Pakistan hangs Kulbhushan Jadhav then it is murder. The government will be seen as weak if it cannot free him," said Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge.

AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on his part said it is the joint responsibility of all to save Jadhav.

"The government has influence, please use it. Will the government make every effort to save him? It is our joint responsibility to save him," he said.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that the Indian High Commission in Islamabad was not even informed about Jadhav's trial in the court.

The MEA added that the subsequent presence of Jadhav, who was kidnapped last year from Iran, has never been explained credibly by the Pakistani authorities.

"The proceedings that have led to the sentence against Jadhav are farcical in the absence of any credible evidence against him. Senior Pakistani figures have themselves cast doubt about the adequacy of the evidence," an official release stated.

"The claim in the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) release that Jadhav was provided with a defending officer during the so-called trial is clearly absurd in the circumstances," it added.

The MEA said the Indian Government, through its High Commission in Islamabad, repeatedly sought consular access to Jadhav, as provided for by the international law.

"Requests to that effect were formally made 13 times between March 25, 2016 and March 31, 2017. This was not permitted by the Pakistani authorities," the statement said.

"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," the statement added.

India yesterday summoned Pakistan's High Commissioner Abdul Basit and issued a demarche against Pakistani military court for awarding death sentence to Jadhav.

-ANI