According to the narrative being pushed by New Delhi, Kulbushan Jhadav was abducted from Sistan in Iran, and wrongfully sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court. Jadhav, whose family lives in Mumbai, had gone to Iran for business purposes and was kidnapped by Pakistan. Pakistan Army officer (Lieutenant Zaheer), who went missing in Nepal, allegedly played a role in the abduction, which occurred in March 2016.
According to Islamabad however, Jadhav was an Indian Naval officer, attached to the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). His mission was to covertly carry out espionage, sabotage and subversion in Pakistan. Pakistan also alleges that there are Indian markings on arms deliveries made by Jadhav to Baloch rebels.
However, the Indian media itself investigated Jadhav and exposed his fake identity. Investigative journalists have examined various documents to do this. These included a page from the Gazette of India showing he was commissioned in the Indian Navy in 1987 with the service ID of 41558Z Kulbhushan Sudhir. A later edition of the Gazette shows his promotion to the rank of commander after 13 years of service in 2000. His passport, No E6934766, indicated he traveled to Iran from Pune under the name Hussein Mubarak Patel in December 2003. Another one of his Passports, No. L9630722 (issued from Thane in 2014), inadvertently exposed his correct address: Jasdanwala Complex, old Mumbai-Pune Road, cutting through Navi Mumbai. The municipal records confirmed that the flat he lived in was owned by his mother, Avanti Jadhav. Furthermore, in his judicial testimony before a Karachi magistrate, Karachi underworld figure Uzair Baloch confessed that he had links with Jadhav.
For now, it appears that the ICJ would revert the Jhadav case to Pakistan for a civil hearing. However, if the opportunity presents itself, Zaheer could be swapped for Jhadav
India’s prestigious Frontline reportage (Praveen Swami, February 16, 2018, India’s secret war) confirmed the possibility that Jadhav still serves with the Indian Navy. Gazette of India Files bear no record of Jadhav’s retirement. India told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Jadhav was a retired naval officer. But, it refrained from stating exactly when he retired. The spy initially worked for Naval Intelligence, but later moved on to the Intelligence Bureau. He came in contact with RAW in 2010.
The case involves intricacies of conflict between municipal (domestic) and international law. In precedence is to municipal law. Though it goes without saying that if he had acted against the USA, he would have been executed straightaway.
In a report, Indian Express ‘claimed’ that Mohammad Habib Zahir, a retired Lt Colonel of the Pakistan Army, was part of the team that kidnapped Jadhav from Iran in March 2016. Zaheer disappeared from Lumbini near Nepal’s border with India. The daily quoted “sources in the security establishment as saying” that Indian agencies had been on Zahir’s trail for long. He is now suspected to be in Indian custody.
If the secession of East Pakistan is any lesson, India’s desire to destabilise Pakistan through the ilk of Jadhav is no secret. A letter published in the Indian media by RK Jhadav, a former RAW officer, unmasks India’s role in the East Pakistan uprising. The confessions in the letter are corroborated by The Kaoboys & RAW: Down Memory Lane, a book by B. Raman, another RAW officer.
For now, it appears that the ICJ would revert the Jhadav case to Pakistan for a civil hearing. However, if the opportunity presents itself, Zaheer could be swapped for Jhadav.
The writer has been a freelance contributor to various newspapers for over five decades
Published in Daily Times, February 23rd 2019.