Why Nawaz Sharif was kept in the dark on Jadhav's death sentence

Does the Pakistan army does not want him to even attempt normalising ties with India?

The Kulbhushan Jadhav verdict by a military court in Pakistan is a pointer to how things work in Pakistan. The all powerful Pakistan army went ahead and sentenced Jadhav to death and the Prime Minister of the country, Nawaz Sharif was totally unaware of it.

When officials in New Delhi following the developments in this case were asked about the same, they said that it is very much possible that Sharif was kept in the dark about Jadhav. It is a message for Sharif not to try and normalise ties with India.

Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi had set the ball rolling with the latter paying a surprise visit to Pakistan. However a week later, the Pathankot attack followed and ties between the two nations derailed. However, both prime ministers did try and salvage the situation and Pakistan's civilian government did assure to give all assistance in the probe.

The ties between the two countries continued to stay normal with the national security advisors of both countries conversing with each other. However, the Kashmir unrest in July and the arrest of Jadhav completely derailed the situation and ties with Pakistan have never improved after that.

Relations between the two countries are unlikely to improve anytime soon. The Jadhav issue continues to escalate tensions between the two countries. Pakistan's generals have made it very clear that there would be no compromise on this issue. India has said that if Jadhav is hanged then it would be treated as pre-meditated murder.

In keeping Sharif in the dark, the message to Sharif is very clear. The army does not want him to even attempt normalising ties with India. It suits the generals if ties continue to dip and hit rock bottom. Sharif on his own has tried a couple of times speaking to the generals about Jadhav, but met with no luck. Sharif was told in clear words to stay away from the issue.

OneIndia News