Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Ruling out the possibility of handing over Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) agent Kulbhushan Yadav to India, Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Friday told the Senate that process had been initiated to prosecute the Indian spy in Pakistani courts.

The adviser said a list of questioners had also been handed over to India to seek more information from them in the light of the statements of Kulbhushan Yadav. He said the purpose of sharing dossiers with the United Nations was to prove the direct and indirect Indian intervention in Pakistan. Pakistan’s stance in this regard was also being acknowledged at the international level, he added.

Kulbhushan Yadav was arrested last year in Balochistan on the charges of spying and stoking terrorism and sectarianism in the country. It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan has also handed over dossiers to the UN on the basis of the confessional statement of Kulbhushan Yadav.

During the interrogation, Yadav made several confessions, admitting his involvement in terror activities in Balochistan and Karachi. The Indian intelligence operative revealed that terrorists present in Karachi were used for sectarian violence.

Last year, Pakistan’s permanent representative at the United Nations (UN) Maleeha Lodhi had handed over evidence of Indian interference in Balochistan and other parts of Pakistan to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

During the question hour, SartajAziz explained that it had never been said that there was a “lack of evidence against Yadav”.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Senator Talha Mehmood had asked the adviser whether the government was planning to give the same ‘red carpet’ treatment to Yadav, which they gave to CIA contractor Raymond Davis. “We have prepared an FIR and a case in the process of registration to prosecute the Indian state actor for involvement in subversive and terrorist activities in Pakistan,” he told the House.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Aitzaz Ahsan said, “I had announced that if Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif mentions the name of Indian spy Kulbhushan Yadav in his speech, I will donate Rs 50,000 to the Pakistan Association of the Blind.” “Has the premier spoken about Kulbhushan Yadav?” Ahsan asked Aziz.

“When the time is appropriate, the PM will speak about Kulbhushan Yadav,” the PM’s adviser replied.

Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani expressed his disappointment over the absence of ministers from the Senate session. “During the previous sessions, the ministers were going to the Supreme Court for the Panamagate hearings. Now there are no hearings, they should have been here,” Aitzaz Ahsan said.

To another question, the Senate was informed that the government was providing cash subsidy to farmers on fertilisers in order to bolster agriculture growth. Minister for National Food Security Sikandar Hayat Bosan said that an amount of Rs 27.96 billion had been allocated in the current budget for the subsidy. He said that despite the exhaustion of these funds, the scheme was continuing on the directives of the prime minister.