Pakistan’s Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Tuesday that India was trying to sabotage the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, according to Karachi-based daily The News International.
Iqbal said Pakistan was effectively pursuing the Kulbhushan Jadhav case at the International Court of Justice as it is proof of India’s intentions to sabotage the corridor through terrorism. “Nobody can reverse it [the Economic Corridor], it will succeed at any cost,” he was quoted as saying. Jadhav was sentenced to death by Pakistan in April 2017 for alleged spying.
Iqbal said the deal was because of the “unprecedented friendship between China and Pakistan”. China stood by Pakistan whenever Islamabad faced difficulties and sent the world a message by investing nearly $50 billion in it, Iqbal added.
In March 2016, Jadhav was arrested by Pakistani officials and accused of spying for India’s Research and Analysis Wing, and aiding separatist elements in restive Balochistan. In April 2017, a Pakistani martial court sentenced him to death. India, however, maintained that he is a former Navy officer, who retired in 2002.
In May, India moved the International Court of Justice, which stayed Jadhav’s execution till the hearing in the case was completed. It had also told Pakistan to give India consular access to Jadhav, which it has not done so far. The hearing in the case is expected to resume this month.
India has publicly opposed the One Belt, One Road initiative, which is a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. India has contested that the project will pass through the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
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