Home India Proposal made to swap Kulbhushan Jadhav for terrorist: Pak minister

Proposal made to swap Kulbhushan Jadhav for terrorist: Pak minister

In a hearing of the case on May 18, a 10-member bench of the ICJ restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav.

Kulbhushan Jadhav. (Source: Express photo by video grab)

Pakistan received a proposal to swap Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav for a terrorist who carried out the 2014 Peshawar school attack and is now jailed in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif has claimed.

“The terrorist who killed children in APS (Army Public School) in Peshawar is in Afghan custody. The National Security Advisor (NSA) told me that we can exchange that terrorist with the terrorist you have, which is Kulbhushan Jadhav,” Asif told the audience after his speech at the Asia Society here on Tuesday.

Asif, however, did not specify the name of the terrorist and the NSA who had made the proposal.

He discussed Pakistan’s vision for and approach towards regional peace and development during his conversion with author and journalist Steve Coll.

Asif said Pakistan had suffered grievously from conflict and instability in Afghanistan. “Unless this cycle is reversed, we would continue to bear the brunt. No country, therefore, has a larger stake in seeing peace and stability return to Afghanistan than Pakistan. Regrettably, the situation in Afghanistan is getting worse,” he said.

Jadhav, a 46-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was in April sentenced to death by Pakistan’s Field General Court Martial on charges of his alleged “involvement in espionage and sabotage activities” against Pakistan.

In a hearing of the case on May 18, a 10-member bench of the ICJ restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.