KARACHI: Simply but aptly titled “The mysterious Mr Jadhav”, well-known journalist Karan Thapar has written a hard-hitting article about the Indian spy who has been sentenced to death by a military tribunal in Pakistan.
Karan Thapar
The sub-head coined for the piece — published on Friday on the website of the Indian Express — was equally instructive in that it succinctly summed up what kind of an article it was. This standfirst said: “The case of the Indian sentenced in Pakistan offers more questions than answers.”
Mr Thapar said he was intrigued by Kulbhushan Jadhav’s story. So he began reading about it, but the more he read about it the more he became confused. “Alas, all I’ve ended up with is questions. The more I learn, the more they multiply,” he wrote.
The first thing that troubled the Indian journalist was why Jadhav had two passports, one in his own name and the other one in the name of Hussein Mubarak Patel.
“According to the Indian Express, the second passport was originally issued in 2003 and renewed in 2014. The passport numbers are E6934766 and L9630722,” he wrote.
When the journalist contacted the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), he was told that the answer could be obtained only if Indian officials managed to gain access to Jadhav. Mr Thapar responded to the suggestion by writing: “But why not check the records attached to the passport numbers? Surely they would tell a story?”
The Indian government claimed that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran and forcibly brought to Balochistan. Mr Thapar said that New Delhi did pursue the matter with Iran. “But, as the MEA spokesperson admitted, they don’t seem to have responded or, perhaps, even conducted an investigation yet. We seem to have accepted that. Odd, wouldn’t you say?”
The Indian journalist went on to ask what was so special about Jadhav that only he was kidnapped by the Pakistani sleuths and not any other Indian living in Iran. “After all, there are 4,000 Indians in Iran — and no one else has been abducted.”
The Indian journalist quoted A.S. Dulat, a former chief of RAW, as saying unhesitatingly that Jadhav could be a spy. “As he put it, if he was the government, he would hardly admit it,” he wrote.
Turning to the disappearance of Lt Col Mohammad Habib in Nepal, the Indian journalist said: “Was Jadhav convicted and sentenced to pre-empt India from claiming it had caught a Pakistani spy? And now, is an exchange of ‘spies’ possible?”
Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2017
From Sarabjit to Jadhav: A history of Indian spies in Pakistan
Dawn.comUpdated Apr 10, 2017 09:42pm
The Indian spy who has been sentenced to death, Kulbhushan Jadhav, is the most recent individual to be tried on espionage charges, but Pakistan and India have a long history of arresting and trying 'spies'.
Sarabjit Singh
Sarabjit Singh was arrested by Pakistani authorities in August 1990. At the time, India said that an inebriated 27-year-old Singh had strayed across the border while ploughing his field.
He was arrested on
charges of carrying out four bombings in Faisalabad, Multan and Lahore which killed 14 Pakistani citizens. He was later sentenced to death.
Singh was fatally assaulted on April 26, 2013, by two fellow prisoners in Kot Lakhpat jail. Singh suffered severe injuries in the head and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital where a medical board comprising senior neurosurgeons treated him.
He died on May 2, 2013. The Indian government conducted a
state funeral after his body was brought back to India by his family members.
Kashmir Singh
Kashmir Singh was a
convicted Indian spy on death row and spent 35 years in prison in Pakistan. Throughout his incarceration, he insisted he was not a spy. He was arrested in 1973.
Kashmir Singh receives a hero's welcome on his return to India. -BBC
Singh was pardoned by then President Pervez Musharraf and returned to India where he was given a
hero's welcome.
“I was a spy and did my duty,” admitted Singh after crossing the border, the
Press Trust of India news agency reported, adding he was paid about 400 rupees a month for his work.
“I went to serve the country,” he told reporters in Chandigarh after his release.
“Even Pakistan authorities failed to get this information from me,” he added.
Ravindra Kaushik
Ravindra Kaushik was born in India's Rajasthan and was
recruited by the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) while working as a theatre artist.
After receiving two years of training, he was sent to Pakistan in 1975, where he enrolled in Karachi University under the alias of Nabi Ahmad Shakir.
After graduation, Kaushik joined the Pakistan Army as a commissioned officer and got promoted to the rank of Major.
During 1979-83, he passed on sensitive information to RAW. His run as a spy ended when another Indian spy was caught by Pakistani forces. The arrested spy blew Kaushik's cover.
Kaushik was incarcerated for 16 years and died in 2001 while imprisoned in Multan Jail after contracting pulmonary tuberculosis.
Sheikh Shamim
Sheikh Shamim was arrested by Pakistani authorities in 1989 and was charged with spying for RAW, reported AFP.
Authorities said he was caught "red-handed” near the Pak-India border while spying. He was hanged by the authorities in 1999.
