With the announcement of Kulbhushan Jadhav’s death penalty and the Pakistan government sticking to its ever denial mode, the suspicion about Jadhav being already executed is growing stronger, in some quarters.
The conflict regarding the ownership of Kashmir was not enough. The case of Kulbhushan Jadhav has proved to be yet another bone of contention between India and Pakistan. It has further soured the already bitter bilateral relations.
On top of this, the haste with which the Pakistan state agencies have been proceeding, in this case, shows their level of nervousness. Thus, giving rise to the doubt that Jadhav has already been killed and that this is a case of a ‘pre-mediated murder’.
When Ajmal Kasab killed innocents and conspired against India, he was given a fair chance to be represented by a lawyer. Kasab’s case was fought for a long time and he was then sentenced to death. Kasab was given a chance to write to Pakistan to get legal help. Interestingly, he had written to Pakistan too, but no reply ever came, regarding even seeking consular access to Kasab. According to the demarche handed over by the Indian Foreign Secretary, S Jaishankar, to the Pakistan High Commission, “The proceedings that have led to the sentence against Jadhav are farcical in the absence of any credible evidence against him.”
The Pakistan government released a confessional video in March 2016. The authenticity of which is questionable. Ministry of External Affairs had released a statement, saying it was ‘tutored’. Even in the footage, several things seem to suggest that the confession was forceful in nature.
This issue has turned into yet another glitch in the path of smoothening bilateral relations with our neighbours. While India may not lose much, even if the wrinkles are not straightened, a palpable tension in the borders and a constant fear of possible terrorist attacks in the cities will always keep us on our toes.
With the world is behind India, it is evident that the Pakistan government’s stand on the issue is a farce and that with every passing day, it is becoming more evident that the country is in a sticky spot and will soon stop at a dead end. However, going by the nature of attacks the country has orchestrated through its intelligence service ISI, which employs terrorists to blow themselves up, what is scary is that the country might charge all its evil forces as a last resort in order to escape from being cornered.
It is evident that the Kulbhushan Jadhav case could be yet another issue similar to that of Kashmir. India has accused Pakistan of violating the Vienna Convention of Consular Relations. However, the question is, what will India do if Pakistan flouts the convention’s norms? Is a war in the offing?
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