The ministry of external affairs (MEA) in New Delhi on Tuesday said it was concerned about the well-being of Mr Kul Bhushan Yadav in light of the fact that India had not even been given consular acces
The ministry of external affairs (MEA) in New Delhi on Tuesday said it was concerned about the well-being of Mr Kul Bhushan Yadav in light of the fact that India had not even been given consular access to him by Pakistani authorities despite the fact that he is an Indian national.
The Pakistan military released the “confessional” video at a time when a Pakistani joint investigation team (JIT) is in India as part of the Pathankot terror probe, raising serious questions about whether the Pakistan Army was at all serious about the Pathankot probe and whether it was dropping a red herring to divert attention and wriggle out of a tricky situation.
In a joint press conference with Pakistan federal information minister Pervez Rashid, Pakistan’s military spokesman and the head of the Pakistan Army’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lt. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa, said, “Kul Bhushan Yadav is a serving Indian naval officer whose primary mission was to foment terrorism in Karachi and Balochistan. He converted to Islam and worked at Gadani under the cover of a scrap dealer.” Lt. Gen. Bajwa was also quoted by news agencies as telling a Pakistani newspaper that Yadav “was working for the Indian spy agency (RAW) and there is an active RAW network in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan.”
The press conference in Islamabad started with a seven-minute video of Mr Yadav. Gen. Bajwa also claimed that Pakistan and Balochistan’s maps were recovered from Mr Yadav’s possession. “He used to establish a network of operatives, provide funds, arrange and smuggle people for terrorism in the country,” the Pakistan military spokesman added.
But the MEA in New Delhi hit back hard. “We have seen a video released by Pakistani authorities of a former Indian naval officer, doing business in Iran, who is in Pakistani custody under unexplained circumstances. The video has this individual making statements which have no basis in fact. That the individual claims to make the statements of his own free will not only challenges credulity but clearly indicates tutoring. It is also relevant to note here that despite our request, we have not been given consular access to an Indian national under detention in a foreign country, as is the accepted international practice. We are naturally concerned about his well-being in these circumstances,” the MEA said, adding, “The (Indian) government categorically rejects allegations that this individual was involved in subversive activities in Pakistan at our behest. Our enquiries reveal that he apparently was being harassed while operating a legitimate business from Iran.
While we probe this aspect further, his presence now in Pakistan raises questions, including the possibility of his abduction from Iran. This would become clear only if we are given consular access to him and we urge the government of Pakistan to respond immediately to our request.”
On this occasion, a seven-minute video statement of Yadav was also played out in which he was apparently seen “admitting” being a serving Indian Navy officer working for RAW, having sponsored terrorist and subversive activities and having links with Baloch separatists. Yadav also apparently said in the video that he was directly in touch with India’s national security adviser, the RAW chief and a RAW joint secretary.
Meanwhile, news agencies cited government sources in New Delhi as saying that Yadav has nothing to do with India’s external Intelligence agency. There is no proof that the retired Navy officer, who owns a cargo business in Iran, was arrested in Balochistan as claimed by Pakistan, the sources were cited as saying. Yadav apparently owns a small ship and used to carry cargo from Bandar Abbas and Chabahar ports in Iran and other adjoining areas to various destinations, sources were cited as saying, adding that he could have been arrested after he strayed into Pakistani waters and was being wrongly charged.
Speculation is also rife in Pakistan that the relations between the Pakistan Army and the civilian government are going downhill. On Tuesday, Sanaullah Zehri, Balochistan chief minister, announced that the arrest of Mr Yadav had led to the arrest of 15 more “agents” in the province. Talking to reporters in Lahore, Zehri alleged that India was interfering in Pakistan’s internal affairs by using Afghan soil. Referring to Mr Yadav, the Balochistan CM said it was the very first time that any Indian senior official had been arrested in Balochistan. He claimed that during interrogation Mr Yadav had revealed that he had been giving training to Baloch armed groups in a bid to attack Pakistani ports. He also claimed that Mr Yadav had “disclosed” that he had purchased boats at the Iranian port of Chabahar in order to target Pakistani ports in a terrorist plot. There are also bizarre claims being made by Pakistani functionaries that Mr Yadav had revealed that the Baloch armed groups’ activists were shifted to Mumbai viaboats for naval training.
