New Delhi: The death sentence handed down by a Qatari court to eight former Indian Navy officers has raised questions about India’s foreign policy in the Gulf region.
In a deeply enigmatic turn of events, a Qatar court has pronounced the death penalty for eight former Indian Navy personnel who were apprehended last year on charges of spying on a submarine program on behalf of Israel.
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On August 30 last year, Qatar’s intelligence agency conducted a covert operation, apprehending these officials from their residences under the shroud of night.
All of them were employed by Dahra Global Technologies, a defense services provider, and had been stationed in Qatar.
The incident has highlighted the challenges of India’s foreign policy in the Gulf region. India has close economic and political ties with many Gulf countries, but it also has a large expatriate population in the region.
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In recent years, the rising Islamophobia among Indians, has led to some tensions with Gulf countries. The death sentence of the eight Indian Navy officers is likely to further exacerbate these tensions.
The incident has also raised questions about the efficacy of India’s diplomatic efforts in the Gulf region. India has been unable to secure the release of the officers, despite its close ties with Qatar. This suggests that India’s diplomatic clout in the region is limited.
The death sentence of the Indian Navy officers is seen as a serious setback for India’s foreign policy in the Gulf region. It has damaged India’s relations with Qatar, raised questions about its diplomatic clout, and created a dilemma for the Indian government.
India’s relations with Qatar were strained last year following provocative comments by former BJP leader Nupur Sharma against Prophet Muhammad. Qatar had summoned the Indian ambassador over Sharma’s comments.
Since their detention, they have been held in solitary confinement, denied bail, and now face the gravest of consequences. Throughout this ordeal, the Qatari authorities have withheld any concrete explanation for their incarceration from the families of the eight men. Dahra Global Technologies was actively engaged in providing training to the Qatari navy.
The arrest of these veteran professionals, initially came to light through a tweet posted by the sister of a former commander who also served as the managing director of the company. He had been residing in Doha since 2013, providing training to Qatar’s naval personnel.
In November of the previous year, Meetu Bhargava, sister of retired Commander Punendu Tiwari, reached out to the Indian government, urging them to secure her brother’s release.
She expressed her distress, stating, “I made a tweet on October 25 and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring back my brother, who is in illegal detention in Doha, Qatar. My brother is a retired navy officer, and he went there to provide training to the Qatari Navy through his company, Dahra Global Consultancy Services.’’
In 2019, Tiwari had been honored with the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, the highest recognition conferred on overseas Indians by the Indian government, following the recommendation of the Qatari government.
Another family member grew suspicious when his brother, one of the detained men, failed to respond to a birthday message, as reported by The Times of India.
Despite consular access being granted to the arrested individuals, the Qatari authorities have refrained from publicly disclosing the grounds for their apprehension or the charges brought against them.
While the specific charges against the eight men have not been officially disclosed, various reports have suggested allegations of espionage on behalf of Israel. Speculation has also arisen regarding a potential connection between their detention and a competitive rivalry involving their employer.
Dahra Global Technologies, which employed these eight Indian nationals, was owned by a Qatari citizen, who was also detained initially but was subsequently released on bail, according to media reports.
There has been conjecture in the media that Qatar asserted its interception of electronic communications, which allegedly indicated that the arrested individuals were engaged in espionage on behalf of Israel concerning the classified Italian midget submarines project, designed to elude radar detection, within the Qatari navy.
In December of the previous year, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar emphasized the Indian government’s ongoing engagement with the Qatari government, assuring that the detained Indian citizens remained a top priority.
“This is a very sensitive case. Their interests are foremost in our minds. Ambassadors and senior officials are in constant touch with Qatar’s government. We assure, they’re our priority,” Jaishankar said in his address to the Rajya Sabha.