Page Reader AI | Pakistani religious scholar shot dead: Recalling his involvement in Kulbhushan Jadhav case

Pakistani religious scholar shot dead: Recalling his involvement in Kulbhushan Jadhav case | Explained News - The Indian Express

The assassination of a Pakistani religious scholar, allegedly involved in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, highlights ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan and the unresolved legal battle surrounding Jadhav's conviction.

AI Summary available — skim the key points instantly. Show AI Generated Summary

Show AI Generated Summary

Pakistani religious scholar Mufti Shah Mir was shot dead on Friday (March 7) in the Turbat town of Balochistan province. Armed men reportedly fired at Mir as he was leaving a mosque.

Mir was close to the right-wing organisation Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) and the attack came days after two leaders of JUI-F were shot dead in the town of Khuzdar in Balochistan, according to a PTI report.

He was also alleged to have played a role in the kidnapping of former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav and bringing him from Iran to Pakistan. The Pakistan government subsequently claimed Jadhav was an Indian spy and a military court sentenced him to death on the charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017. We recall the case.

Story continues below this ad

What is the Kulbhushan Jadhav case?

The Indian government has said that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran, where he was engaged in business activities after retiring from the Indian Navy, and was then shown to have been arrested in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on March 3, 2016. They informed India about the arrest only on March 25, 2016.

India then sought consular access that same day, and repeatedly afterward. On March 21, 2017, Pakistan issued a note verbale saying consular access would be considered in the light of India’s response to its request for assistance in the probe.

The same year, a military court sentenced him to death. Pakistan contended that Jadhav was arrested in Balochistan, near the border with Iran, after illegally entering Pakistani territory. India approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and challenged the death sentence. India also said that a video showing Jadhav supposedly confessing to the charges against him was “fabricated”.

In December 2017, Jadhav’s wife and mother were allowed to meet him across a glass partition, with India contesting Pakistan’s claim that this constituted “consular access”.

Story continues below this ad

What is the current status of the Kulbhushan Jadhav case?

In 2019, the ICJ ruled that Pakistan must review the case and reconsider Jadhav’s conviction and sentence. The court granted India consular access and legal representation to Jadhav. It also put a hold on the military court order that awarded him the death sentence.

In the wake of the ICJ order, the Pakistan government had promulgated a special ordinance to allow Jadhav to file a review. India, however, is believed to have conveyed to Islamabad that the law had several “shortcomings”, and that steps were needed to implement the ICJ’s order “in letter and spirit”. Indian government sources told The Indian Express that the law is “nothing new”, but a reiteration of an ordinance issued in 2019.

The Pakistan government had then filed a case in the Islamabad High Court in 2020 to appoint a defence counsel for Jadhav. The court has since then repeatedly asked India to nominate a lawyer from Pakistan for Jadhav, but New Delhi has been seeking to appoint an Indian lawyer instead.

Jadhav continues to be lodged in a jail in Pakistan and is now in his mid-50s. There have been no major official updates on the case, at a time when bilateral ties between India and Pakistan have nosedived in recent years.