New Delhi, India: Modi Sarkar (Government) has decided to terminate back channel diplomacy with Islamabad and also decided to withdraw from Indus Water Treaty (IWT) talks scheduled to be held in Washington this week.
The decision of terminating back channel diplomacy process came after the news of announcement of death sentence to detained Navy officer Kulbhushan Yadav by Pakistani Military Court for his alleged involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan.
Pakistani Military Court claimed that Yadev is spy and agent of Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) while New Delhi denied allegations.
Back channel diplomacy was initiated by both countries on the request of Trump administration in mid of March and New Delhi held IWT talks in Islamabad on March 21-22. It was decided that secretary level talks over IWT would be held in Washington in second week of April.
New Delhi while reacting over death sentence of Yadev said that if the order was carried out (his death sentence), it would be perceived as “premeditated murder”.
“The proceedings that have led to the sentence against Shri Jadhav are farcical in the absence of any credible evidence against him. It is significant that our High Commission was not even informed that Shri Jadhav was being brought to trial,” said the Indian Foreign office.
While the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan Armed Forces said that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has confirmed death sentence awarded by the Field General Court Martial (FGCM) to Yadev.
The ISPR said that the FGCM tied Kulbushan Jadhav under section 59 of Pakistan Army Act (PAA) 1952 and Section 3 of official Secret Act of 1923, and found him guilty of all the charges.
According to Dispatch News Desk (DND) news agency, Kulbushan Jadhav confessed before a Magistrate and the Court that he was tasked by RAW to plan, coordinate and organize espionage and sabotage activities aiming to destabilize and wage war against Pakistan by impeding the efforts of Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) for restoring peace in Balochistan and Karachi.
