Aziz, Pak foreign office speak in two voices over ‘Indian spy’

NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz on Wednesday acknowledged there was no “conclusive evidence” against Kulbhushan Jadhav, arrested in Balochistan in March on charges of being an agent of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), according to media reports.

Speaking in the Senate or upper house of Parliament, Aziz said the “dossier on Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav contained mere statements”. Geo News quoted Aziz as saying, “It did not have any conclusive evidence.”

Aziz, the advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on foreign affairs, was further quoted as saying, “What the dossier contained was not enough. Now it Pakistani officials arrested Kulbhushan Jadhav in March for being a ‘RAW agent’. Jadhav was charged with sabotage and terrorism

The Indian government, however, acknowledged the fact that Jadhav is a former Indian Navy officer, and

is up to the concerned authorities how long they take to give us more matter on the agent.”

He did not say which organisation or department had submitted the dossier against Jadhav, whose arrest was announced by the military in April.

Aziz, who was briefing the Senate on relations with India, said further evidence regarding dismissed all allegations of espionage

Jadhav had an Iranian residency permit and that he purportedly had a passport in the name of Hussain Mubarak Patel. The place of birth given in this passport is Sangli in Maharashtra.

Jadhav’s role in Pakistan needs to be gathered. He also said Pakistan had provided the UN a dossier regarding RAW’s alleged activities in Pakistan.

Hours after Aziz’s remarks were reported by the media in India and Pakistan, the Foreign Office in Islamabad said the statement attributed to him was “absolutely incorrect”.