India will do everything to secure justice for Jadhav: Rajnath

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said New Delhi will do everything required to secure justice for Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death in Pakistan.

"We condemn this act of Pakistan. I would like to assure the house that whatever needs to be done to provide justice to Jadhav, we will do," Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha.

Singh said that Pakistan ignored "basic norms of law and justice" in sentencing Jadhav.

According to Singh, Jadhav was kidnapped from Tehran and cannot be a spy as claimed by Pakistan.

"Jadhav was produced as an Indian spy in front of the Pakistani media," Singh said.

"Pakistan has said a valid Indian passport has been found from Jadhav. If he was having a valid passport, how can he be a spy? This question does not arise," the minister said.

A Pakistan Army statement on Monday said Jadhav was arrested from Balochistan on March 3, 2016, and charged with "espionage and waging war against Pakistan".

Singh said that Jadhav, whose family lives in Mumbai, had gone to Iran for business purposes and was kidnapped by Pakistan.

A Pakistani statement described Jadhav, who allegedly used the alias Hussein Mubarak Patel, as an Indian Naval officer attached to the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

--IANS

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