India knows why Jadhav sentenced to death : Basit

Pakistani High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit defending the death sentence awarded to Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav says Indian government was aware of "what [Pakistan] is talking about".

“Jadhav received a fair trial, the details of with couldn’t be made public,” Basit told India Today.

Basit added that Jadhav was not an ‘ordinary man’, he was a serving [Indian Navy] officer, which is why he was trialed in a military court like other Pakistanis.”

Jadhav was arrested on March 3, 2016, through a counter-intelligence operation in Balochistan's Mashkel area for his involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan.

The charges he faced included spying for India, working against Pakistan’s integrity, sponsoring terrorism in the country and attempting to destabilise the state.

Defending the death sentence, Pakistani high commissioner to Indian told in the interview that Pakistan has "arrested hundreds of operatives and foot soldiers on the basis of information provided by Jadhav" ever since his arrest.

When asked why was India not allowed consular access to Jadhav despite regulations under international law, Basit said that consular access is not "automatic", especially for matters that are "sensitive and related to security".

"Consular access is not provided across the board, let us remember that," he maintained.

While drawing a parallel between Jadhav's trial and the trial of Ajmal Kassab ─ whom India indicted and hanged over the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Basit said, "My advice to you would be that please do not mix apples with oranges lest you draw convoluted conclusions."

He said Pakistan cannot be blamed "if the trial in the Mumbai attacks had not been fast [enough]".