New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that the Indian government is not aware of the whereabouts of former naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court.
MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay said that Pakistan had not shared with India any details of Kulbhushan Jadhav’s location, or his condition, adding that Pakistan's 'indefensible' verdict is a violation of basic norms of law, justice and international relations.
Following the multiple rejections for consular access, India has also decided to renew attempts to file a fresh request to Pakistan.
"Kulbhushan Jadhav is a kidnapped innocent Indian, who is a retired officer of the Indian Navy. And these two facts were communicated to Pakistan one year ago when the matter of his illegal custody came to our knowledge. We had made 13 requests for the consular access, but it was denied by the Pakistan," MEA official spokesperson Gopal Baglay told the media here.
India also reiterated its stance, warning Pakistan that execution of Jadhav would considered as murder by the country.
"We have given a strong message to authorities in Pakistan that the way in which the verdict has been given by the army court, is not transparent and not in accordance with bilateral relations between the two nations," said Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre.
Alleging that the processes involved were not transparent, Bhamre said, "If this verdict is implemented, we will consider it as murder of an Indian national. In any case, we will not tolerate this."
However, Pakistan did not budge from its stance, with its top general saying that no compromise would be made on Jadhav.
The decision was made at a Corps Commanders' conference presided over by Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, the military's media wing Inter- Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
The Generals were briefed about Jadhav and it was concluded that "no compromise shall be made on such anti-state acts", the statement said.
Amid the increasing frostiness in the ties between the two countries, Pakistan has further aggravated the situation by hinting that India might be behind the abduction on one of its former army officers.
Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said Zahir was "trapped" and Pakistan was in touch with Nepal to trace him. "He was lured after being offered a job... The role of foreign spy agencies cannot be ruled out," he said, without naming any country.
But words such as "enemy" and "foreign spy agency" by the foreign office are often used to suggest the involvement of India and its external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).
Lt Col Muhammad Habib Zahir disappeared on April 6 from Lumbini, a Buddhist pilgrimage site near India's border town of Sonauli, where he had apparently gone for a job interview.
