Reacting to the death sentence awarded to formal Indian Naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav by a Pakistani military court, former President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday expressed apprehensions of India retaliating by picking up some Pakistani and portraying him as a 'Pakistani spy'.
According to a report in Dawn, Musharraf told ARY TV during a discussion that international intelligence is a dirty game and Pakistan should be vigilant about Indian moves and counter-moves.
"International intelligence is a dirty game. Pakistan now needs to remain vigilant as they [India] might try to sabotage us by picking up some Pakistani and portray them as a 'Pakistani spy' and try to get back at us," Musharraf said.
The former Pakistani Army chief did not rule out the possibility of Indian intelligence picking up Lt Col Mohammad Habib, the retired Pak Army personnel, who has gone missing from Nepal a couple of days back.
"I hope that it is not true but there certainly is a chance that Indian intelligence may have picked him up as they have a strong influence in Nepal," he added.
Musharraf also predicted sharp rise in tension between India and Pakistan following Kulbhushan Jadhav’s death sentence and asked Pakistani government to stand fast against India's accusations of the sentence being an act of 'premeditated murder'.
"Pakistan has to stand fast against India's accusations of the move being of 'premeditated murder'. I would like to remind everyone of how India dealt with Ajmal Kasab, Kassab was one non-state actor involved in one incident, this man was responsible for launching several such incidents in Balochistan and Karachi. Who is a greater criminal if we were to talk numbers?" Musharraf said.
Musharraf, however, advised both India and Pakistan not to allow this incident to derail their overall relationship.
"This singular incident should be set to one side and both countries should actively try to move forward in their overall relationship," he said.
