The media in both countries predictably, but also unfortunately, stood by the “national interest” as defined by their respective governments and did not critically examine the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav. This has greater impact on the Pakistani people. Self-confession in a military court is the sole basis on which Pakistan’s media declared Jadhav guilty.

In the process, the Pakistani media has endangered the rule of law within their country. India may lose one Jadhav, but it is time the Pakistani media realized the danger military courts pose to society and also that this danger cannot be averted by selectively defending the due process of law.

It has to ask why everyone arrested these days invariably confesses to being an Indian spy or being connected with one – Jadhav, Uzair Baloch, and Ehsanullah Ehsan. So, the Pakistani media is contributing, even if inadvertently, to the narrative that India is behind all the sectarian killings, insurgencies, etc and, by implication, the real god-fearing jihadis are not responsible.

The Pakistani newspapers choose to overlook their own principled positions on issues such as rule of law and capital punishment when dealing with the case of an Indian. Such a selective approach could weaken the liberal constituency within Pakistan which these newspapers have nurtured over the years.