Will hit ties,

Sushma Swaraj vows to do everything she can to save son of soil as Sharif talks tough

India warned Pakistan on Tuesday of serious consequences for their ties if it executed a retired naval officer convicted of spying, and said New Delhi will do all it can to save the “Hindustan ka beta”.

As anger grew in India over the Pakistani military court’s order, Islamabad’s defence minister Khawaja Asif said Kulbhushan Jadhav had the right to appeal within 60 days. Asif, however, defended the verdict, and said “due process of law” had been followed.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif too took an aggressive stand, saying though his country was peace-loving, “we cannot remain oblivious to defending our sovereignty and protecting our independence”.

Jadhav, 46, was convicted on Monday for alleged spying, espionage and waging war against the state of Pakistan.

Jadhav was arrested from Balochistan in March 2016. India says the charges have been concocted.

“We have no choice but to regard the sentence, if carried out, as an act of premeditated murder. Our position on the matter is very clear. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by Kulbhushan Jadhav,” foreign minister Sushma Swaraj told Rajya Sabha.

“I would caution the Pakistan government to consider the consequences for our bilateral relationship if they proceed on this matter.”

Parliament is likely to adopt a resolution condemning Pakistan on Wednesday.

Although the treasury bench and opposition parties came together in a rare show of solidarity for Jadhav, the Congress took a dig at the government asking why it can’t get access to Jhadav.

“Without an invitation, you can attend a marriage, but you cannot meet him or talk to him on the issue,” Congress’ Lok Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Pakistan on the day Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif’s daughter got married.