India seeks Jhadav’s health certificate

Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson says Indian spy’s health is a ‘matter of grave concern’

India on Thursday requested Pakistan to issue a health certificate of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a military court, said the Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson.

According to The Times of India, the ministry spokesperson Gopal Bagley, said that the health of the Indian spy is a ‘matter of grave concern’ to New Delhi.

"We haven't seen, we haven't met him (Jadhav). He has been in Pakistan's custody for more than a year. So the well-being and state of Jhadav’s health is a matter of great concern,” Bagley was quoted by The Times of India.



The spokesperson said, "We have asked the Pakistani government earlier also, and yesterday [Wednesday] our High Commissioner (Gautam Bambawale) made a request on providing a report on his medical condition. So we await Pakistan's response," Baglay said.

Jadhav, who was caught in Balochistan in 2016 and has confessed to fomenting terrorism in Pakistan – was handed down the death penalty in an unprecedented decision that instantly sparked a bitter diplomatic spat between the two countries.

He was arrested on March 3 last year during an operation in Mashkel area of Balochistan. A few weeks later, the army released his recorded confessional statement in which he admitted that he was working for the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s primary foreign intelligence agency, to stoke unrest and instability in Pakistan.



In a six-minute video, Jadhav confessed that he had been assigned the task of creating unrest in Balochistan and Karachi, for which he had visited the country several times using a fake identity since 2003.

India denies Jadhav is a RAW agent but admits that he is a retired naval officer. Pakistan has already clarified that his sentence was in accordance with the law and that India stood totally exposed on the issue of terror financing and perpetrating subversive acts in the country.