Islamabad is not afraid of India's warnings of the deterioration of bilateral relations amid a death penalty sentence of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, accused of espionage against Pakistan, the country’s Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif said Wednesday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Pakistani Field General Court Martial declared the death sentence verdict to Jadgav on Monday. The move prompted sharp criticism by Indian authorities, including the country's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj who warned Pakistan about the severe consequences of the potential execution for bilateral relations.
"Pakistan will not take any pressure from India," Sharif said, as quoted by news outlet Times Now.
Jadhav, 46, a former Indian navy personnel and businessman, was arrested by Pakistani authorities in March 2016 on charges of conspiring against Pakistan and conducting spy activities in the country's cities of Balochistan and Karachi. Pakistan's government consider him to be an active officer of the Indian Navy working for the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) of the Indian foreign intelligence agency.
According to the Indian Foreign Ministry, Jadhav was kidnapped in 2016 from Iran and his subsequent detention had never been "explained credibly" by the Pakistani side. New Delhi added that the Indian government had made formal requests for consular access to Jadhav 13 times since his arrest, but the requests had been rejected by the Pakistani authorities.
This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.