News Analysis |
On Wednesday Pakistan offered India permission to allow self-confessed spy, Kulbushan Jadhav, to meet his wife while he awaits his decision on amnesty from the country’s Army Chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The press release said it is being done on humanitarian grounds.
Read more: Jadhav makes clemency appeal to the COAS: What will be his…
“A ‘note verbale’ to this effect has been sent to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad today [Wednesday],” stated the release. The meeting will take place on Pakistani soil, the Foreign Office’s spokesman clarified.
India has not officially responded to the offer. Diplomatic sources are terming it as an attempt by Pakistan to offset the setback it faced in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Pakistan should take all measures to ensure that Mr. Jadhav is not executed till the final decision of this court,” the court said.
Jadhav, a navy-officer-turned RAW operative was caught in the act in an Intelligence Based Operation (IBO) last year from Mashkel, Balochistan. Subsequently, after his confession of involvement in espionage and terrorist activities inside Pakistan, Jadhav was sentenced to death.
“The spy was tried through Field General Court Martial under the Pakistan Army Act and awarded the death sentence. Today, Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa confirmed his death sentence awarded by FGCM,” the military’s media wing had said on April 10, 2017.
Jadhav’s episode gave a great boost to Pakistan’s long-held yet ignored narrative about Indian involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan. Delhi vowed to leave no stone unturned to save their discredited former operative.
Read more: “Pakistan should take measures to ensure that Jadhav is not executed”,…
Both countries fought a legal battle in The Hague. Apparently, the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) was warmly received in India. The court, on 18th May, while asserting its jurisdiction, stayed the execution. Pakistan should take all measures to ensure that Mr. Jadhav is not executed till the final decision of this court,” the court said.
“A ‘note verbale’ to this effect has been sent to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad today [Wednesday],” stated the release.
The impending execution of Jadhav is likely to add to tensions between the two archrivals. The Pakistan Army, last month said it was close to reaching a decision on Jadhav’s mercy petition.
While there is widespread support throughout the country for carrying out the execution, some argue that Pakistan can get more out of a living Jadhav. The country can use him to add credibility to its narrative regarding India. Delhi has warned Pakistan of further trouble in bilateral ties if the execution is carried out.
Watchers argue that the spirit of the interim order is that the ICJ has taken up the case for further proceedings; the stay is ad-hoc and applicable till the final verdict. They assert that If anything, Pakistan should be relieved because the case has brought multilateralism back into the equation in regards Indo-Pak ties.
India has not officially responded to the offer. Diplomatic sources are terming it as an attempt by Pakistan to offset the set back it faced in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
It must be pointed out that India has time and again desisted involvement of international organizations in the resolution of disputes. It could be rightly argued that the order by Judge Ronny Abraham did something which Pakistan wanted: Internationalize the Indo-Pak dispute.
Read more: Will Pakistan execute Jadhav before the final verdict?
Both countries will lock horns at The Hague in a matter of months while the fate of Jadhav hangs in the balance. India had furnished its representation on September 13th. Meanwhile, Pakistan has started preparing its response.