Daily Times

Speaking at the Sastra University on the 10th Nani Palkhivala Memorial in February 2014, Mr. Ajit Doval had said some shocking things as he outlined his view on India’s strategy towards Pakistan. That outline became more problematic for people in Pakistan – both alt-right and peaceniks – when Mr. Doval later took charge as the National Security Adviser of Indian government headed by Prime Minister Narendera Modi.

In his speech, Mr. Doval had said: “In defensive offence, we start working on vulnerabilities of Pakistan- these could be economic, political, related to internal security and international isolation by exposing [Pakistan’s] terrorist activities. These can entail defeating its policies in Afghanistan-making it difficult for them to manage internal political balance or internal security.” He went on to say, “Pakistan’s vulnerability is many times higher than that of India,” and that, “you can do one Mumbai, you may lose Balochistan. If you know the tricks, we know the tricks better than you”. And, “If they [Pakistan] have got a budget of Rs 1,200 crore, and we can match that with Rs 1,800 crore, they [terrorists] are all on our side”.

Exactly two years after this speech and 18 months after Mr. Doval was made the NSA, a serving Indian navy officer was arrested from Balochistan in possession of a passport with a pseudonym. Newspapers in India have published stories about his contacts with Mr. Doval and the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). In this backdrop, there won’t be any takers in Pakistan for Indian officials’ claim that Kulbhushan Jadhav’s requests to work for it had been rejected by the R&AW. Pakistani people have seen too much bloodshed at the hands of terrorists. Anyone on whom there is even a shred of suspicion of abetting or, worst, sponsoring these mercenaries would be a target of public detestation and loathe in Pakistan. Any threat to the country is unacceptable and totally non-negotiable.

Having said that, it is important for Pakistan to be seen as a peaceful and principled party in the equation where India clearly is appearing as an aggressor with a chip on shoulder and, post Jadhav’s arrest, carrying the stigma of sponsoring terror. The charge sheet released by Adviser to Pakistani Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Mr. Sartaj Aziz against Jadhav implicates him in sponsoring and directing IEDs and grenade attacks in Gwadar and Turbat and on civilian boats in the sea opposite Jiwani Port; funding terrorists to turn Pakistani youth against the country through hawala/hundi, especially in Balochistan; gas pipelines explosions in Balochistan; IED explosions in Quetta in 2015; attacks on Hazaras in Quetta and Shias’ en route Iran; and, abetting attacks against Frontiers Corps and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) in Turbat, Punjgur, Gawadar, Pasni and Jiwani during 2014-15.

This is a serious compendium of dreadful cases of terrorism in which Pakistan has lost many precious civilian lives. Then why was Jadhav tried under the Official Secrets Act, which has nothing to do with activities like setting off bombs? Why is he being charged only for espionage and not terrorism under the Anti-Terrorism Act? Besides, the trial timeline is also a bit problematic. Jadhav was made to confess through a video released on March 25, 2016. This means he might have been arrested any number of days before the release of the confessional video. The date of initial FIR given by Mr. Aziz was April 8, 2016 – two weeks after the confession. Is this in accordance with the law of land in Pakistan? If not, why was the law flouted?

Jadhav’s trial was held so secretively that not only the people of Pakistan but also parliamentary committees were kept in the dark. Summary of evidence had been recorded on September 24, 2016, but on December 8, 2016, Mr. Aziz said to the media, “What the dossier contained on Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadav were mere statements. It did not have any conclusive evidence.” Why were people of Pakistan lied to about someone who they were made to believe had killed so many of our innocent citizens and jawaans?

If we want us to be taken seriously, the government must not put these questions under the carpet. Killing Pakistanis is a serious offence that too by someone from a neighbouring state that doesn’t get off its high moral horse so easily and takes sadistic pleasure in painting Pakistan as a sponsor of terrorism. If indeed this Kulbhushan story is genuine, it is India that is sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan. In order to prove it genuine, we’ll have to iron out all the creases in the story.

Another important question is: what exactly was the urgency of pulling the plug on Jadhav? Whispers are abound in Islamabad and in New Delhi that most probable reason might be a former Pakistani colonel, who was picked up reportedly by India’s RAW the same day when Jadhav’s sentence was released to the media. That both the cases may be linked was reported by the Indian media, a few hours after the announcement of the sentence by ISPR.

This view was further strengthened by India’s Minister for External Affairs (MEA) Ms. Sushma Swaraj’s statement on the floor of Rajiya Sabha. She said that Pakistan had linked provision of consular access to Jadhav with India’s acceptance of its [Pakistan’s] position. The Indian response, she said, “was constructive in the hope that some forward movement could be made”. It is as if by keeping alive the Jadhav issue – Pakistan wanted to highlight India’s hand in enflaming Pakistan’s terror landscape, we should have put our story in a convincing way for the world to believe us – a possibility made quite difficult because of our actions in the last two decades. If by using Jadhav’s arrest we want a barter of prisoners, we would lose all the international credibility that we might win through flaunting Indian terror plans in Pakistan.

Just like there is rage among Pakistanis against a plotter of bloodshed on our soil, there exists fury among Indians who do not believe that their state could be involved in such a matter. Here our audience should have been this Indian populace too. Making them aware of the crimes of their state was not difficult at this time. All it would have taken was evidence other than just a confession under custody, which is not taken seriously by anyone throughout the world.

The best course for Pakistan now is to keep Jadhav alive and release substantive evidence, event by event, in coming months or, may be, years. Don’t let the aggressor state go scot-free and with a card of victimhood in its hand. We won’t be able to use a dead body as leverage on an unending strategic chess game. Indian government is exploring its legal options (including a high level prisoners swap) to save their spy. While the Indians formulate their response in coming days, Rawalpindi and Islamabad must look at the entire thing through a futuristic lens.

Tailpiece: If Jadhav was responsible for attacks on Hazaras, ASWJ Balochistan leaders who had claimed responsibility must immediately be arrested for being part of an Indian conspiracy.

Marvi Sirmed is a staff member and can be emailed at marvisirmed@gmail.com, accessed on Twitter @marvisirmed