Did Pakistan Army hurriedly announce a death sentence for former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav as a pre-emptive move, fearing Indian action against a retired Pakistani Army officer who has gone missing from a Nepali town near the Indian border?

Speculation is rife on social media, and journalists from both sides have spun conspiracy theories contradicting each other but having one thing in common: the disappearance of Lt Col Mohammad Habib in Nepal.

Is Pakistani action related to abduction of Pakistan Army officer in Nepal? Even if so, very short sighted. - Rezaul Hasan Laskar (@Rezhasan) April 10, 2017

The Indian side believes Pakistan hurried the sentencing of Kulbhushan Jadhav to prompt India to declare its course of action vis-a-vis Lt Col Habib. The Pakistani side believes India pre-empted Pakistani action against Kulbhushan Jadhav by acquiring a Pakistani asset to negotiate a swap.

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Both the theories sound ludicrous now since India has not announced any arrest and neither has Pakistan officially accused India of taking custody of its retired Army officer. All the hints are from media reports.

Indian RAW kidnaps retired Pakistan Army officer from Nepal. - https://t.co/Cr7rJ1rRyf pic.twitter.com/aI4OIqP8BR - Pakistan Defence (@defencepk) April 8, 2017

Pakistanis on social media are accusing India of kidnapping a former Pakistan Army officer to put pressure on Islamabad to release Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer. Kulbhushan Jadhav has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani Army court. The hearing was not open and India is lodging a strong protest against the sentencing.

Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations said in a release that he was a RAW agent and was convicted for planning sabotage activities in Pakistan. He was arrested from Balochistan in March 2016 and made to confess to his involvement in espionage. He was tried by a military court and sentenced to hang to death.

India today issued a demarche to Pakistan, in which it said: "If this sentence against an Indian citizen, awarded without observing basic norms of law and justice, is carried out, the Government and people of India will regard it as a case of premeditated murder."

LT COL HABIB IN INDIA'S CUSTODY, SAY PAKISTANIS

Many Pakistanis have alleged that the retired Pakistan Army officer, Lt Col Mohammad Habib, who reportedly went missing on April 6 from Nepal's Lumbini, might well be in the custody of the Indian authorities.

Lt Col Habib's disappearance came to light only on Sunday after media picked up the chatter on WhatsApp groups managed by retired military officers. Lt Col Habib was working in a private firm since his retirement in 2014.

He was in Nepal on the pretext of appearing for a job interview. He had flown from Lahore to Kathmandu on Thursday and later in the day flew to Lumbini, the Buddhist pilgrimage town located near the Indian border.

He had sent his family a photo after his landing and told them he had safely reached his destination. His family and friends later said they couldn't get in touch with him as the local number he had called from was no longer active.

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