Anubhav Sabharwal
Most Indian citizens, as well as those of our neighbouring Pakistan, are born with nationalist or nationalistic tendencies. Both country residents will not waste any time supporting their national team when they compete, much like the ongoing Cricket World Cup. Cricket fans applaud the cricketers who represent the Nations for their professionalism. The clamour of the Ahmedabad audience was evidence of that.
The Cricket World Cup only occurs every four years, yet two teams Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) being the foreign intelligence agency of India and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), its Pakistani counterpart have been playing every day …………for many decade(s) on either side of the border.
Armed forces also have professionals like (Rtd.) Commander Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav. It is alleged by the Pakistani Government that he was arrested in the Pakistani province of Balochistan on charges of terrorism and spying for India’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing. On 10 April 2017, Indian Foreign Ministry alleged he had been “kidnapped” by ISI agents from Iran and his subsequent presence in Pakistan has never been explained credibly.
Similar, is a case of (Rtd) Lt. Col. Habib Zahir’s on the other side. It is alleged by the Pakistan foreign office that Col. Habib is in Indian custody. Any comments from Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India are not available with the writer. (No Comments posted on the official web site of MEA) on Lt Col. Habib.
The Pakistani foreign office Spokesperson stated in 2019 that “Rtd.Lt. Col. Habib Zahir is a retired Pakistani officer who went missing in Nepal, where he had gone for a job interview in April 2017.”
Some military professionals are eager to accept overseas assignments while they are still in the service, such as UN peacekeeping deployments or trainings on a particular domain or skill set (even join Indian Institute of Technology (IIT’s) or Indian Institute of Management (IIM’s) in India). This enhances their resumes, and some of them choose to do this so that, when they retire from armed forces, they can later find good jobs with that domain or skill set in the private sector.
Senior Advocate Harish Salve in 2019 represented Commander Jadhav at the International Court of Justice(ICJ)*** which suspended the death sentence served to Rtd. Commander Jadhav by Pakistani military court.
However, till date Commander Jadav is in custody of Pakistan, whereas the whereabouts of Lt. Col. Habib is not known.
Speculations in media about Lt. Col Habib’s swap with Commander Jadhav are also in the air. (Watch movie Bridge of Spies, the movie is about James Donovan, a New York insurance lawyer who brokered the 1962 exchange between KGB spy Rudolph Abel and Francis Gary Powers, US, U-2 Pilot on the Glienicke Bridge in East Germany).
Whether they are in the armed forces or the sport of cricket, whether they are Indians or Pakistanis, these people have an outstanding commitment to their professions and a strong sense of family nationalism.
The winner of the Cricket world cup won’t be declared for a few weeks. The truly quiet HEROs, however, are people like Rtd. Commander Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav and Rtd. Lt. Col. Habib Zahir whose families’ bravery deserves the highest praise. People like them are something of which we Indians and Pakistanis should be proud. Despite being the biggest Professionals, they do not receive the same pay or public support that our cricketers do.
The intelligence agencies (R&AW and ISI) are playing a continuous TEST MATCH like cricketers. These agencies alone determine the RULES & DURATION of the Match, however, for them Every Day is the World Cup Final!
Millions of people in the winning Cricket World Cup nation will experience pride, joy, and happiness at HOME!
Let the professionals on the Indian cricket team compete in the World Cup to set these professional soldiers free once more. Let their families experience the pride, joy, and happiness at HOME!
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