Pakistan makes a U-turn, won’t send back ‘spy

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: Two months after Pakistan's top foreign affairs official Sartaj Aziz said there was inadequate evidence against the alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, Islamabad ruled out his extradition and said an FIR had been registered against him.
Jadhav was arrested in Balochistan on March 3, 2016, with authorities claiming that he was a RAW agent involved in "subversive activities" against Pakistan since 2013. But in December 2016, Aziz, while addressing the Senate, had said the dossier on Jadhav contained "mere statements" and did not have "any conclusive evidence".

Contradicting his previous statement, Aziz on Friday told lawmakers that the government was in the process of prosecuting Jadhav for carrying out "subversive and terrorist activities in Pakistan".

Official sources in New Delhi, responding to media reports from Pakistan, said, "The government has on several occasions completely rejected the baseless allegations against Kulbhushan Jadhav. The circumstances of his presence in Pakistan remain unclear, particularly because we have not been provided consular access despite our repeated requests.

We expect Pakistan to follow well-established international practice in this regard and ensure his well-being while he is in its custody." Aziz told the Senate that a dossier had been prepared based on thorough groundwork and inputs from various state departments on the "Indian involvement in internal affairs of Pakistan."

The dossier, Aziz said, was shared with the UN secretary general. "It includes details about Kulbhushan Jadhav and his activities," he said, adding that the government was also examining the possibilities of sharing it with other countries and international organisations.