Sentencing was to pre-empt Indian disclosure on missing Pak. officer, say officials

Discussions over the possible link between the Pakistani army officer who has gone missing in Nepal since last week and the sentencing of former Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav by a Pakistani army court martial deepened as further details emerged of the two incidents.

Lt. Col. Muhammad Habib Zahir, a retired Pakistani Army officer, landed in Kathmandu last Thursday, purportedly looking for a job, but since then has been missing.

His family and friends have told Pakistani media that they suspect that he was kidnapped by the Indian agencies.

Counter move

While there is no indication from any of the Indian sources about a link between Lt. Col. Zahir’s disappearance and Indian agencies, speculation has further mounted since Pakistan on Monday announced that its army chief has confirmed a court martial decision to award Mr. Jadhav the death penalty using a secretive anti-terrorism law that empowers the Pakistan Army.

Indian officials viewed the Pakistani move publicising the death penalty awarded to Mr. Jadhav as a pre-emptive measure in case India were to disclose that it had Lt. Col. Zahir in custody.

“Timing is important. They think that their missing officer is in Indian custody. By announcing the death sentence to Jadhav they have pre-empted Indian move, and now if India were to make any move on that front it could be projected as retaliation,” an official source told The Hindu.

At least two sources who had personally known Mr. Jadhav during his tenure with the Navy, said it [a link between Lt. Col. Zahir and Jadhav’s sentencing] was a hopeful sign. “If that is so then [we] can hope that he would be back home one day,” one of them said.

Job offer

An FIR registered by Lt. Col. Zahir’s son, Saad Habib, has claimed that he was received by a man named Javaid Ansari at the Kathmandu airport on April 6.

Since then the retired Army officer has not contacted his family.

The family claimed that he received an interview call from a U.K. telephone number generated via the internet. He also received an email from career@startsolutions.biz.

Lt. Col. Zahir, who reportedly retired from the Pakistan Army in 2014, has also worked with United Nation’s peace mission for two years, Pakistani media said. He then joined a Pakistani food company and was looking for other job offers.

According to Pakistan media reports, he was contacted by a man named Mark Thompson, who offered him a job at an international company StartSolution.biz, and called him for an interview to Nepal.

Media reports said the family suspect that the retired Pakistan Army officer may have been abducted by the Indian intelligence agencies.

Initial probe

Saad said the initial probe by the family and friends revealed that the British telephone number from which the officer got the job offer was computer generated and the email domain and its associated website were registered in India.