Published 15:19 IST, July 16th 2020
India gets second consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, meeting with officials underway
In a breaking development, India got second consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav on July 16 from Pakistan.
In a breaking development, India got second consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav on July 16. This comes after India demanded unconditional access to Jadhav from the Imran Khan-led country, sources said on Thursday. The meeting with officials is already underway.
Earlier this month, Islamabad had announced that it will give consular access for Jadhav, inviting his father and wife to meet him. The first consular access for Kulbhushan Jhadav was given to New Delhi in September of 2019, with Indian deputy high commissioner (DHC) Gaurav Ahluwalia in Islamabad meeting him for 2 hours.
Earlier, MEA official spokesperson Anurag Srivastava contended that Pakistan's claim on Kulbhushan Jadhav was part of Pakistan's propaganda. He noted that Pakistan had continued to lie about the case for 4 years.
Last week, India also said that Pakistan had repeatedly denied free and unimpeded access to the retired Indian Naval officer. Highlighting that the Imran Khan-led government had not handed over any relevant documents, including FIR, evidence, court order, etc. to India, the MEA observed that Pakistan was attempting to create a "mirage of compliance" with the ICJ judgment.
Pakistan's propaganda on Jadhav's review petition
The Pakistan Foreign Ministry on July 8, said that an ordinance promulgated in May had allowed Jadhav, his legal representative, or a representative of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to file a petition for review and reconsideration of his sentence and conviction. Speaking on behalf of the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, Additional Attorney General Ahmed Irfan mentioned that this was on the lines of the ICJ verdict of July 2019, and claimed that Jadhav had refused to file a review plea in the Islamabad High Court despite being invited by the Pakistani authorities to do so on June 17. He added that Jadhav had instead preferred to follow up on his pending mercy petition.
Kulbhushan Jadhav case
Kulbhushan Jadhav, a privateer at Chabahar in Iran, was abducted by Pakistan in March 2016. After Pakistan's military court awarded him a death sentence on the charges of espionage and terrorism in 2017, India moved the ICJ. In its verdict dated July 17, 2019, the ICJ asked Pakistan to effectively review and reconsider Jadhav's sentence and conviction. Moreover, Jadhav's death sentence has stayed until the completion of this process. Additionally, the ICJ directed Pakistan to allow India consular access to Jadhav.
Updated 15:55 IST, July 16th 2020