Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav files mercy petition to COAS, seeks forgiveness

RAWALPINDI: Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav has filed a mercy petition to Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, seeking forgiveness for his espionage, terrorist, and subversive activities, the ISPR said on Thursday.

In his plea, Commander Jadhav has admitted to his involvement in espionage, terrorist and subversive activities in Pakistan and expressed remorse at the resultant loss of many precious innocent lives and extensive damage to property due to his actions.

Seeking forgiveness for his actions, he has requested the Chief of Army Staff to spare his life on compassionate grounds, the ISPR said in a statement here today.

Jadhav had earlier filed an appeal to the Military Appellate Court, which was rejected. Under Pakistani law, he is eligible to appeal for clemency to the COAS (which he has done) and, if rejected, subsequently to the President of Pakistan.

The ISPR also released a second confessional video of the Indian spy – in which he can be seen accepting his acts of terrorism and espionage – "so that the world should know what India has done and continues to do against Pakistan", the ISPR said.

Who is Kulbhushan Jadhav?

A resident of Mumbai's suburban Powai neighbourhood, Jadhav belongs to a family of police officers.

Jadhav belongs to the cadre of the engineering department of Indian Navy and took the cover name Hussein Mubarik Patel for intelligence gathering for Indian agencies, his statement says.

He added that he joined the National Defence Academy in 1987, and subsequently the Indian Navy in 1991, where he served until around December 2001.

In his statement, the Indian national said he is currently a serving officer in the Indian navy, due to retire by 2022. India denied the claim.

The India Foreign Office stated that the man is a former Indian navy officer.

The Indian spy said he commenced intelligence operations in 2003, and established a business in Chahbahar, Iran, where he remained undetected and visited Karachi in 2003 and 2004.

He was picked up by Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) at the end of 2013 and has been directing various subversive activities in Karachi and Balochistan.

His objective, he stated, was to hold meetings with Baloch insurgents and collaboratively carry out terrorist activities.

“These activities have been of criminal nature, leading to killing of or maiming of Pakistani citizens,” Jadhav’s statement reads.

In pursuit of targets set by RAW handlers, the Indian national was apprehended by Pakistani authorities on March 3, 2016, while trying to cross over into Pakistan from the Saravan border in Iran.

Pakistan denied consular access to Jadhav since after his arrest, although he was provided with a defending officer as per legal provisions during his Field General Court Martial (FGCM) trial.

He was sentenced to death by the FGCM on April 10, 2017.