Pakistan Offers India Consular Access To Kulbhushan Jadhav Today

Pakistan offered consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, who Islamabad alleges to be an Indian spy and is in Pakistan’s custody, on Monday"in line with Vienna Convention on Consular relations", said Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal on Sunday. Jadhav was arrested in Pakistan’s restive province of Balochistan in 2016 and accused of terrorism, spying, and fomenting trouble in the region. He was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court in 2017. However, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) based in The Hague, Netherlands, directed Pakistan to stay his execution and allow him consular access, in a 15-1 decision on July 17.

"Consular access for Indian spy Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, a serving Indian naval officer and RAW operative, is being provided on Monday 2 September 2019, in line with Vienna Convention on Consular relations, ICJ judgement & the laws of Pakistan," tweeted Faisal.

Consular access for Indian spy Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, a serving Indian naval officer and RAW operative, is being provided on Monday 2 September 2019, in line with Vienna Convention on Consular relations, ICJ judgement & the laws of Pakistan.

— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) September 1, 2019

Nearly six weeks after Pakistan promised consular access to Jadhav, Islamabad had on Thursday said it was in contact with India on the issue. On August 1, Pakistan Foreign Office said the retired Indian Navy officer on death row will be granted consular access the next day.

However, the meeting, which was scheduled for 3 pm on August 2, did not materialise amid differences between India and Pakistan on the terms of the consular access to Jadhav. Earlier, Faisal said Pakistan and India were in contact on the "issue of granting consular access" to Jadhav. 

On July 17, the ICJ ordered Pakistan to undertake an "effective review and reconsideration" of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav and also to grant consular access to India without further delay. One of the conditions put by Pakistan reportedly was the presence of a Pakistani official when Jadhav is allowed to meet Indian officials as part of the consular access.

 India did not agree to the condition, making clear its position that the consular access must be "unimpeded" and should be in the light of the judgement by the ICJ. Pakistan claims that its security forces arrested Jadhav from the restive Balochistan province on March 3, 2016 after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy. 

(With PTI inputs)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Jadhav, a retired Indian Navy officer, is on death row in Pakistan which has accused him of spying.
• India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy and has been wrongly framed.
• The ICJ based in The Hague, Netherlands, directed Pakistan to stay his execution and allow him consular access, in a 15-1 decision on July 17.