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Thursday March 28, 2024

Civil, military leadership united on Kulbhushan’s issue: FO

By Mariana Baabar
April 14, 2017

Says can’t rule out involvement of hostile agencies in disappearance of Col Habib

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office said on Thursday that the civil and military leadership are on the same page on the issue of RAW agent Kulbhushan Yadav.

At the weekly media briefing, the Foreign Office spokesman said Kulbhushan, a serving Indian naval officer, is a RAW agent. He said RAW’s involvement in subversive and anti-Pakistan activities is known to all by now.

“Kulbhushan was caught red-handed involved in this regard. He made confessions about his involvement in espionage, direct involvement in terror financing and recruitment for perpetuation of terrorist activities. His arrest has also helped in averting or foiling other terrorist activities, which he identified himself. It was on the basis of his confessional statement that terrorist networks were dismantled and led to arrest of people aligned with him,” he added.

Regarding India’s demands for consular access to Kulbhushan, the spokesman said the two sides signed an agreement in 2008 in this regard.“In issues related to security or espionage and political matters, countries exercise discretion in granting consular access. The Article VI of the agreement states that in all instances of security and political matters related to the merit of the case would be considered,” he explained.

To a query, the spokesman said so far there is no news about Lt Col Habib Zahir, and at this stage one cannot rule out involvement of hostile agencies in his disappearance.“The Government of Pakistan has taken up the issue with the government of Nepal and is actively pursuing the matter. His family is extremely worried. The Government of Nepal is also extending cooperation in the matter,” he said.

Meanwhile, India has failed to provide proof that Kulbhushan has retired from the navy and is not a serving officer. Secondly, New Delhi maintains that its staunch ally Tehran has so far not helped towards investigations in which Kulbhushan on an Indian passport was based inside Iran. Also, according to Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi, Kulbhushan came on a legal Indian visa to Pakistan some years ago.

“Kulbhushan has been visiting Pakistan since 2003 using an original Indian passport but with a fake name,” Abdul Basit, Pakistan’s High Commissioner in India, told the media in New Delhi. Abdul Basit said that evidence has been shared with the Indian government as well.

“We have sufficient evidence against Kulbhushan and have shared it with the Indian government. He was involved in sabotage and terror,” Abdul Basit said. He said that Kulbhushan has been given a fair trial and assured that he will be given the right to appeal or seek mercy.

The high commissioner said charges against Kulbhushan were such that he could not be tried in a civil court and that he had been tried under the laws of the land, the 1952 Pakistan Army Act, and he was also provided defence counsel. As there are many missing links in Kulbhushan’s role as a RAW spy, Pakistan even approached Iran some time back to request for information about Kulbhushan’s activities inside Iran. A question is being asked as to why Iran is reluctant to pass over information about Kulbhushan to Pakistan and India.

The interior minister had also asked Iran to hand over Rakesh, another RAW agent inside Iran, whom Kulbhushan confessed was his accomplice. Verification was also requested about the cities that Kulbhushan visited in Iran and the people he interacted with.

“Pakistan expects Iran to seriously look at Islamabad’s assertions and take every step to stem incursion of Indian spies into the Pakistani territory,” the minister had demanded.

“Kulbhushan was covertly based in Chabahar, Iran, under the pretext of being a jeweller/businessman. He was assisted by RAW sub inspector Rakesh, alias Rizwan, a key operative who was also working undercover as a businessman dealing in jewellery. Kulbhushan had an Iranian visa along with an Indian passport and he had crossed over to Balochistan’s Mashkhel area from Saravan, Iran,” says information available with Pakistan.

However, last year a senior Iranian official said that they had started an investigation but these had remained inconclusive.“Had there been any result, it would have been shared with Pakistan,” Allauddin Boroujerdi, Chairman of Committee for Foreign Policy and National Security of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, had stated while on a visit to Islamabad.