India caught in a cycle of bias – Part I

Published Jan 2018?

CPEC, doomed to failure, – Kashmir, a raging hotbed of terrorists; the spy caught red handed - a kidnap victim and Islamabad - one step shy of earning the state sponsor of terrorism label. While Pakistan, viewed from the Indian perspective appears to fulfill all the criteria for a rogue nation, India, in the Western eyes looks benign – a paragon of democracy and a champion of human rights. It is anything but.

A look at major headlines from both sides’ attempts to reconcile the Indian states’ carefully crafted image of objectivity with reality and debunk the myths peddled ad-nauseum. As the process examines Indian biases that are determined to seek out chinks in the Pak- China relationship and represent CPEC as a threat – that conflate the struggle in Kashmir with global terrorism while projecting failed attempts at cross-border intrusions from their end as successful surgical strikes on Pakistan and goes on to dress the Indian spymaster’s predicament in humanitarian garb, it discovers glaring incongruities.

Falling press ranking, media watch dogs muzzled, rising concerns regarding the safety of Indian journalists and dwindling freedoms goes against claims of fair and balanced reporting especially when it comes to regional coverage. Kulbhushan Jadhav serves as a compelling case study that demonstrates the pervasiveness of media bias.

India’s Spymaster in Pakistan and the art of flipping the Script

Not too long ago an Indian naval man found wandering the streets was linked with espionage, accused of being a saboteur who appeared to be well treated, as officers even those accused of terrorism are wont to be; and who sang like a canary. His testimony was damning. The backlash that followed on its heels from his Indian overlords however took many by surprise.
Spies visit Pakistan often – some get apprehended, others do not. If released on humanitarian grounds – they flaunt their handiwork and make it a point to throw it in their captors’ faces.

Kulbhushan Jadhav lived under an alias and sported a Muslim name. It is a tried and tested cover since India’s NSA advisor Doval reportedly did the same for 7 years using a Muslim identity during his stay in Lahore. The only difference is that Doval was not caught. The ones who were, denied it till the end and only admitted to being spies once released after obtaining Presidential Pardons or as a result of lobbying by human rights advocates.

Jadhav passed himself off as a mild mannered businessman using Chabahar as his base of operations and an Iranian visa to go back and forth. His capture was significant given the scope of his activities and reported extent of the damage - from disrupting CPEC, fostering mayhem in Karachi and overseeing the insurgency in Balochistan. If he was a gold mine for intelligence agencies then the arrest of a high level operative was the smoking gun. Karachi’s security has shown marked improvement since then along with the rest of the cities and these events have coincided with reports of disbanding his network of subservice agents combined with targeted operations by Pakistani forces and the rise of the Pak-China led economic corridor.

The spymaster is currently on death row. Though his capture and incarceration is a domestic matter, India raised Commander Jadhav’s case in the International Court of Justice - ICJ and managed to buy some time though the ICJ technically has no jurisdiction. India also hopes for what they call a ‘fair verdict’ and since an Indian still heads the ICJ, the definition of fair can be debated. Also, their self righteous stance and extensive lobbying on behalf of a convicted spy raises questions.

US Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for U.S. Navy sentenced for life, served 30 years in a U.S. prison for the crime of espionage. Jadhav has been charged with espionage and terrorism by a military court. Though his videotaped confession was released soon after, he was still portrayed as an innocent by his people and used as a weapon to flay Pakistan on its human rights record.

Expectations for clemency of course are the norm and the mercy petition card has been played in the past. Pakistan did allow his wife and mother to meet Jadhav on humanitarian grounds. This is perhaps more than India would have done if the roles were reversed. Yet the response from Indian media continued in the same hostile vein. That he was tutored, parroting Pakistani propaganda; that he didn’t speak his mother tongue. A few media men deemed the reunion to be ‘chilling’, one that left the family horrified and depressed in the words of their relatives.

Jadhav’s wife’s shoes were confiscated and certain items were not allowed inside the meeting room. In an age of advanced spy tech, smart watches, and gadgetry, it seems like a wise precaution on Pakistan’s side. Interestingly enough, the editorial of ‘the hindu’ (an Indian publication) recognized that glass door partitions, frisking, change of attire and confiscating metal objects including jewelry are internationally accepted standards and quiet diplomacy instead of public shaming are in the spy’s best interests. Also, knowing that the Indian agencies would never send the family members without coaching and would use them later as assets, unwilling or otherwise in their own propaganda machine makes these measures necessary.

Other headlines speak of the family’s post reunion depression, the spy looking less than perky and how the quality of mercy is strained in Pakistan. They insisted that the meeting itself was nothing short of a ‘travesty’. That it was held under an ‘atmosphere of coercion.’

Before the meeting, the Indian state appears overly concerned about the safety of Commander Jadhav’s kin. Afterwards they go on the warpath on trivial matters and in the hands of Indian foreign minister Shushma Swaraj, minor incidents became major headlines and fodder for domestic consumption and a rabid Parliament.

Indian media pundits continued baying for blood as they called out the Pakistani journalistic community for behaving like vultures circling the dead and the State for the alleged harassment of the spy’s family. Islamabad’s conduct has been classified as crass. A play by play of the aftermath shows how little material India had to work with since they speak instead of India’s deputy HC throwing up his hands in frustration when their car was late and Jadhav’s family were likely to be accosted by a bevy of hostile journalists waiting on the sidelines. Al-Jazeera only reports pro-Pakistani chants by waiting media men.

Indian media later applauded the mother’s courage for calling out Pak agencies and dismissing her sons ‘scripted’confession. Her defiant stance has been interpreted as a welcome spanner foiling Pakistan’s plans to use her son’s words as the final nail in his coffin. They are now patting themselves on the back for adding a wise old matriarch to the mix when Pakistan clearly had the upper hand and could have easily refused her access like it did to the diplomat who wanted to fly in. Also, everything was reportedly returned intact including the jewelry - everything except for the incriminating shoes.

Meanwhile, India’s own media publication (The Quint) recently retracted a story based upon some revealing statements issued by RAW bosses who apparently opposed Jadhav’s recruitment as a spy and commented upon his qualifications or lack thereof. In their opinion, Jadhav was “not a high-grade operative" and “did not possess the required skills for collecting intelligence.” This story has since vanished from the website, along with the man who dared publish it. Chandan Nandy, the opinion editor is reportedly missing, according to ‘Pakistan Today’ and has been presumably in hiding since the publication. His last post on twitter was on 6 Jan 2018. Did he seal his fate given the dismal press freedom rankings in India?

RAW’s incriminating words not only implicate Jadhav but also clarify a few things like the spy’s seemingly docile disposition that made him an asset but ultimately became a liability.

Though he was chosen for his appearance to evade detection - he may never have been truly committed to the cause like a jaded intelligence officer usually is. Perhaps he had qualms regarding the nature of his assignment and may have actually been relieved at being ‘made’ in the end. Or perhaps it was hard for someone who signed on to serve his nation as an ‘officer and a gentleman’ to reconcile to the new role as a terrorist. This may explain his willingness to ‘tell-all’ without much persuasion. Whether or not he had any misgivings is inconsequential since Jadhav’s mission only ended when Pakistani intelligence caught up to him in March 2017.

Finally, the kidnapping charge used to discredit Pakistan’s story applies more to the case of the retired Pakistani Lt. Col lured by persons unknown to Nepal tjrough offers of a job and likely abducted by Indian forces immediately after Commander Jadhav’s confession. It is widely believed that the army man may be used as a pawn in a spy swap / prisoner exchange. Whether the death penalty is commuted to life sentence or Jadhav becomes a bargaining chip is yet to be determined. Either way, the spy along with his family remains an indispensible part of the Indian misinformation campaign. Kulbushan Jadhav is a gift that keeps on giving.