(PTI)
India today warned Pakistan that execution of the death sentence handed down to Kulbhushan Jadhav by a military court would be taken as “pre-meditated murder” and Islamabad should consider its consequences on bilateral relations.
“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,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in an identical statement in both Houses of Parliament.
“Under these circumstances, we have no choice but to regard the sentence, if carried out, as an act of pre-meditated murder,” she said, adding that the sentence by the Pakistani Military Court was based on “concocted charges”.”Let me state clearly that the government and the 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,” Swaraj said categorically. She said the process adopted by the Pakistani military court to award the death sentence “tells us a lot about the farcical nature of the alleged proceedings which have led to indefensible verdict against an innocent kidnapped Indian.”
