Indian will go out of its way to save Jadhav from execution: Swaraj

NEW DELHI: Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj asserted that India will go "out of way" to save spy agent Kulbhushan Jadhav from death sentence in Pakistan and warned Islamabad of severe consequence to the bilateral relationship with New Delhi if it goes ahead with his execution.

Calling Jadhav "a son of India", Swaraj issued a warning to Pakistan saying, "I would caution the Pakistani government to consider the consequences for our bilateral relationship if they proceed on this matter."

The minister told the upper house of Indian parliament that their position is very clear; there is no evidence of wrongdoing against Kulbhushan Jadhav.

"This is an act of premeditated murder," she said, referring to the death sentence handed to the Indian spy by a Field General Court Martial (FGCM) on Monday.

Swaraj assured parliamentarians that the government would not stop at just ensuring Jadhav has the best of lawyers to fight his case in the Supreme Court, but would "go out of the way to save him".

When asked by a lawmaker if the government would fight Jadhav's case in the Pakistani apex court, Swaraj said: "We will do more. We will take it up with the president [Mamnoon Hussain]," The Hindu reported.

It is pertinent to mention here that, the Indian RAW agent, who was arrested on March 3, 2016 for involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan, was sentenced to death on Monday.

COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has confirmed his death sentence awarded by FGCM (Field General Court Martial).

‘Indian RAW Agent 1 Naval officer 415582 Commander Kulbushan Sudhir Jadhav alias Hussein Mubarak Patel was arrested on March 3, 2016 through a Counter Intelligence Operation from Mashkel, Balochistan, for his involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan. The spy has been tried through Field General Court Martial (FGCM) under Pakistan Army Act (PAA) and awarded death sentence,’ reads the statement by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).

RAW agent Commander Kulbushan Sudhir Jadhav was tried by FGCM under section 59 of Pakistan Army Act (PAA) 1952 and Section 3 of official Secret Act of 1923. FGCM found Kulbushan SudhirYadhav guilty of all the charges.

Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported that Jadhav now has 40 days to file an appeal against the FGCM in the army’s court of appeal, according to retired Col Inamur Rahim, a military law expert.

In case the appeal court upholds the FGCM verdict, Jadhav would have the opportunity to seek mercy from the army chief and the president of Pakistan.