Pakistan to submit new dossier on Yadav to UN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has prepared a new dossier on Indian spy Kulbhushan Yadav that will be shared with the United Nations and foreign ambassadors stationed in Islamabad.

The new dossier is based on the early video confessional statement and also statements given in front of the Field General Court Martial (FGCM) by Yadav for his involvement in espionage and sabotage activities in Karachi and Balochistan, the local media reported.

The FGCM earlier this week found Yadav guilty on two counts of espionage and sentenced him to death. 

The dossier will also include an attested report of the Field General Court Martial, the timeline of Yadav's militant activities and also the court proceedings.

Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale on Friday asked Pakistan to provide a copy of the charge-sheet filed and the judgment given against Yadav while strongly raising this issue.

The Indian side also conveyed that it will appeal the order and was studying the Pakistan Army Act for the same.

In a meeting with the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan Tehmina Janjua, the Indian envoy sought consular access to Yadav for the 14th time. However, Janjua said since it was a case of espionage, consular access couldn’t be granted.

Yadav was arrested in March last year. India has strongly objected to the sentence, saying consular officials were denied access to Yadav during his trial.

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had earlier this week issued a stern warning to Pakistan, saying that Islamabad should be wary of taking such an extreme step as it could result in damaging the bilateral relations between the already hostile neighbours and vowed to go "out of the way" to save Yadav amid an outrage in India. 

Meanwhile, India has called off the Indo-Pak maritime security dialogue it was to host next week in the backdrop of tensions arising over the death sentence handed down to Kulbhushan Yadav, the PTI reported.

Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh said India was taking all measures to gain consular access to Yadav.

A delegation of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) was to visit New Delhi on April 16-19 to discuss issues related to fishermen of both the countries, who were arrested for trespassing, and search and rescue operations with the Indian Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard sources said the Ministry of Defence had not given clearance for the delegation's visit.

The development comes amid tensions between the two countries over Yadav.

India says if Yadav was executed, it will be considered as a "premeditated murder".

As per an MoU signed between the maritime security agencies of India and Pakistan in 2006, the Coast Guard delegations of the two countries would visit each other every year.

Last July, a three-member delegation of the Indian Coast Guard, headed by Director General Rajendra Singh, had visited Pakistan to discuss the maritime issues between the two countries.

"This was to be a reciprocal visit by a delegation of PMSA headed by their DG," a senior Coast Guard official said.