A Study on the Case of Kalbushan Jadev from the View of International Law

Abstract

Kulbushan Yadhav Case is a unique case in which an Indian spy was caught during the operation of security forces in Pakistan in 2016. He was allegedly involved in sponsoring terrorism in the provinces of Baluchistan and Sindh in Pakistan. He confessed all the offenses committed by him which was telecasted on TV channels across the world. Kulbushan Yadhav was serving Commander of Indian Navy that confessed that he funded BLA and BRA named illegal terrorist organizations in the Province of Baluchistan while working for Indian Intelligence Agency RAW. He further confessed that he visited Karachi twice and gathered intelligence pertaining to Pakistan’s Navy. He also admitted that there are many other RAW agents like him working in He was sentenced to death in Pakistan.

India denied the confession of Kulbushan Yadhav again and again. India approached International Court of Justice in 2017 which initially stayed the execution of death sentence against Kulbushan Yadhav. In the final verdict of the case the International court of Justice (ICJ) granted consular access to India and ordered review of death sentence of Kulbushan Yadhav in July 2019. India’s plea for the release of Kulbushan Yadhav was rejected.

This case was contested by India Legal team headed by Mr. Harish Salve and Pakistan’s Legal Team headed by Mr. Khawar Qureshi. India’s stance was that Pakistan is denying consular access to India which is right of accused under the provisions of Vienna Convention. The proceedings of the case initiated in May 2017 and finally the case got decided in 2019. In this article we have used different spellings of the name of Kulbushan Yadhav (Jadhev) as this name is written both ways in India and Globally.

Pakistan and India are neighboring countries located in sub-continent. Both got independence from Great Britain by virtue of Partition Act 1947. India never accepted Pakistan’s independence because of which it made things worse for Pakistan since the independence times. Both countries fought fierce wars against each other in 1948, 1965, 1971 and 1999. Pakistan also lost half of the country which was East Pakistan and later it becomes Bangladesh in 1971 because of the interference of India in the internal affairs of Pakistan.

Pakistan came into being on the doctrine of Two Nation Theory which was given by Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal at his historic speech at Allahabad India in 1931. He was a renowned poet also known as poet of the east. According to the two nation theory there are two nations living in Indo-Pak Subcontinent which are different in their cultures, religions, morals, language and lifestyles. They cannot live together because of which there is a dire need of separate homeland for Muslims living in India. This two nation theory becomes the basis of division of India and creation of Pakistan in 1947.

When Pakistan lost East Pakistan province, the then Primemininster of India Mrs. Indira Gandhi said “Two Nation Theory has been drowned in Bay of Bengal”. India has the same approach of destroying rest of Pakistan because of which it keeps sending its agents in Pakistan to destabilizing it. Kulbushan Yadhav is one of such agents which got arrested after considerable time. He was involved in sponsoring terrorism activities in Pakistan especially in the provinces of Baluchistan and Sindh.

Pakistan and India are both Nuclear Armed Nations. Both the countries are well equipped with the state of the art machinery, fighter jets, strong armed forces and capability to destroy each other. There are border disputes also between both countries especially because of disputed territory of Jammu & Kashmir. If agents like Kulbushan Yadhav are not restrained from interfering in the matters of Pakistan, someday this world may become an unsafe place to live.

Keywords: - Kulbushan Yadhav Case, Indian Spy Case, Consular Access Latest Judgment, Indian Terrorist Spy Case, Cross Border Terrorism by India, Indian Sponsored Terrorism

DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/97-03

Publication date:May 31^st 2020