War with Pakistan is inevitable: BJP MP

BJP's Subramanian Swamy calls for Indian government to begin 'serious homework' for a war

An Indian lawmaker belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called for his government to begin "serious homework" for a war with Pakistan.

Subramanian Swamy, a Rajya Sabha MP, said the time has come to "wage war against Pakistan," Press Trust of India reported.

"I don't say that we should do this [declare war] immediately, but we should start doing serious homework for this right now."

The Indian lawmaker was speaking on India's allegation that the family of convicted spy Kulbhushan Jadhav was harassed in Pakistan, a claim that Islamabad has denied.

He likened the alleged harassment to "Draupadi's vastraharan".



"It's my personal opinion," Swamy, a member of India's parliamentary consultative committee on external affairs, said as an apparent corollary before saying "It [the personal opinion] often becomes party's opinion also."

India accused Pakistan on Tuesday of harassing the family of self-confessed spy on death row Jadhav, saying their meeting was held in an “atmosphere of coercion”.

Jadhav met his mother and wife in Islamabad on Monday, their first meeting since his arrest from Balochistan last year on charges of espionage and terrorism.



“It appears that Jadhav was under considerable stress and speaking in an atmosphere of coercion,” the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement shortly after top Indian officials debriefed his family in New Delhi.

However, the Pakistan Foreign Office rejected India’s claim that Jadhav’s family was harassed during their meeting.

“The Indian baseless allegations and twists that come 24 hours later, about the visit of the wife and mother of Commander Jadhav are categorically rejected,” it said in a statement on Tuesday night.