India may treat Kulbhushan Jadhav's sentence by Pak as premeditated murder

New Delhi: Summoning Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit, India on Monday issued a demarche against Pakistani military court for sentencing alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav to death.

Speaking over the same, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) claimed that the Indian High Commission in Islamabad was never informed about Jadhav's trial in the court.

The ministry further claimed that the Pakistani authorities have never explained credibly about the presence of Jadhav, who was kidnapped from Iran in 2016.

"The proceedings which led to the death sentence against Jadhav are farcical in the absence of any credible evidence against him. Senior Pakistani figures have themselves cast doubt about the adequacy of the evidence," an official release stated.

"The claim in the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) release that Jadhav was provided with a defending officer during the so-called trial is clearly absurd in the circumstances," it added.

The MEA also claimed that the Indian government has consistently been demanding consular access to Jadhav through its High Commission in Islamabad, which is provided by the international law.

"Requests to that effect were formally made 13 times between March 25, 2016 and March 31, 2017. This was not permitted by the Pakistani authorities," it said.

"If this sentence against an Indian citizen, awarded without observing basic norms of law and justice, is carried out, the Government and people of India will regard it as a case of premeditated murder," it read.

Also Read: Former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav sentenced to death in Pakistan

Earlier in the day on Monday, Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistan Military court, revealed its media wing the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Jadhav was arrested on March 3, 2016 in an operation in Balochistan's Mashkel area on charges of being involved in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan, the ISPR added.

"The spy was tried through Field General Court Martial (FGCM) under the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) and awarded the death sentence. Today Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa confirmed his death sentence awarded by FGCM," the ISPR said.