Thought impromptu stopovers would strengthen Indo-Pak ties: Vadra takes jibe at PM Modi

A day after a military tribunal handed out a death sentence to alleged Indian spy Kubhushan Jadhav, Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra poked fun at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the announcement was a clear indication that impromptu stopovers in Pakistan had not improved bilateral ties as one would have thought. He was referring to Modi's visit to Lahore in December 2015 to wish Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on his birthday.

Asserting that India is asking for Jadhav's life in one voice, Vadra urged the Centre to leave no stone unturned to save him.

"Kulbhushan Jadhav" has been given the "Death Sentence", by Pakistan. Five Indians before Jadhav, were arrested by Pakistan on charges of spying and they died, awaiting justice, in Pakistani jails according to media reports," Vadra said in a Facebook post.

"In retaliation, our govt. has decided to not send back, 12 Pak prisoners. Is that all we can do for the Indians held by Pakistan ??!!For the sake of entire nation, the government should take every step to save Jadhav's life. I thought with the stop overs n celebrations of our premiers, we would have closer relations. There is only one voice in India right now .... #SaveKulbhushanJadhav," the post added.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today said that Jadhav is a victim of a plan that seeks to cast aspersions on New Delhi to deflect international attention from Islamabad's well-known record of sponsoring and supporting terrorism.

Asserting that India's position on this matter is clear, Swaraj said there is no evidence of wrongdoing by Jadhav.

"If anything, he is the victim of a plan to cast aspersions on India to deflect international attention from Pakistan's well-known record of sponsoring and supporting terrorism. Under these circumstances, we have no choice but to regard the sentence, if carried out, as an act of pre-meditated murder," she said in the Rajya Sabha.