NEW DELHI, April 11 (Xinhua) -- India Tuesday strongly condemned the death sentence handed down to one of its nationals for alleged spying in Pakistan as "an act of premeditated murder" and warned Islamabad of "consequences for bilateral relationship" if he is executed.
"There is clearly no evidence of any wrongdoing by Kulbhushan Jadhav (the alleged spy). This is an act of premeditated murder. I would caution the Pakistan government to consider the consequences for our bilateral relationship if they proceed on this matter," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told the Parliament.
However, experts say that India-Pakistan relations have already tumbled to a new low after a military court in the neighboring country Monday awarded death sentence to Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer, following which New Delhi retaliated by stopping release of some Pakistani prisoners.
"The relations between India and Pakistan have touched another low since the expulsion of each other's diplomatic officials last year over spying charges and the surgical strikes carried out by India across the border in the wake of a terror attack on its Uri military base in Indian-controlled Kashmir in September 2016," said Prof Navin Pathak, a Delhi-based expert.
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