India debunks Pakistan claim on 'spy' Kulbhushan
India was not given consular access to Mr Yadav despite requesting.
New Delhi: Another war of words broke out on Tuesday between India and Pakistan after the Pakistan Army released a video of an arrested ex-Indian Navy officer purportedly “confessing” his “involvement” in terror activities in Balochistan which India promptly rubbished.
The head of Pakistan Army’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa and Federal Information Minister Pervez Rashid held a press conference in Islamabad to release the video, saying Kul Bhoshan Yadav “confessed” to his role of of working for RAW to “foment trouble” in Balochistan. Mr Yadav had been arrested in Pakistan, which described him as an Indian Navy officer.
Read: India disowns ex-Navy officer arrested in Pakistan
No link with Kulbhushan: India
After Pakistan Army released a video of an arrested ex-Indian Navy officer Kul Bhushan Yadav purportedly “confessing” his “involvement” in terror activities in Balochistan, the claim was debunked by the Indian government which said he had no link with the Government since his premature retirement from the Navy.
However, head of Pakistan Army’s Inter-Services Public Relations Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa and Federal Information Minister Pervez Rashid claimed that Mr Yadav was still a serving officer due to retire in 2022.Official sources in Delhi rubbished the purported “confession” and said it was Pakistan’s “propagandist ploy” to deflect the attention from its own problem of “home-grown terrorism”.
Read: Thirteen more Indian ‘spies’ held in Pakistan
The sources also said India was not given the consular access to Mr Yadav.
despite its requesting for the same and alleged that the release of the video was Pakistan’s attempt to deflect the attention from the Pathankot terror strike probe.
Citing Mr Yadav’s case, Bajwa accused India of carrying out “state-sponsored terrorism” in Pakistan. There cannot be a clearer “evidence of Indian interference in Pakistan”, he claimed.
The Pakistanis claimed that Yadav had established a small business in Chabahar in Iran and had “directed” anti-Pakistan activities in Karachi and Balochistan.
“He converted to Islam and worked at Gadani under the cover of a scrap dealer,” Lt. Gen. Bajwa said at a joint press conference with mr Rashid.