Kulbhushan Jadhav Case: The meeting between a senior Indian diplomat and alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav is currently underway after Pakistan formally granted the consular access to the convicted spy in line with the decision of International Court of Justice.
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A senior Indian government official earlier on Monday confirmed New Delhi’s acceptance of Islamabad’s offer and told AFP that New Delhi hoped “Pakistan will ensure right atmosphere so that the meeting is free, fair, meaningful and effective in keeping with the letter and spirit of the ICJ orders”.
India’s deputy high commissioner to Pakistan Gaurav Ahluwalia today met Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is on death row in Pakistan after Islamabad granted consular access to the former naval officer “in line with the ICJ judgement”.
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The meeting came a month after a similar interaction between Indian officials and Jadhav did not materialise amid differences between New Delhi and Islamabad on the terms of the consular access to the retired Indian navy officer.
On Sunday, Pakistan said it would grant consular access to Jhadav, weeks after the International Court of Justice urged Pakistan to undertake “effective review” of the case, adding that a “continued stay of execution” was needed for that to happen.
“Consular access for Indian spy Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, a serving Indian naval officer and RAW operative, is being provided on Monday 2 September 2019,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said in a tweet late Sunday.
Kulbushan Jhadav
The former Indian naval officer was arrested on March 2016 in Pakistan’s restive southwestern province of Balochistan – a region where Islamabad has long accused New Delhi of backing separatist rebels. He was convicted of planning espionage and sabotage and sentenced to death by a military.
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India claimed Jadhav retired from the navy in 2001 and was running a “logistics” business in the Iranian port of Chabahar. New Delhi insists he was taken captive in Iran before being moved to Pakistan and then forced to confess. India then approached the UN court to intervene saying his trial had been unfair and Pakistan had denied him diplomatic assistance.
Pakistan maintained that a treaty between the neighbours did not oblige it to allow diplomatic assistance for those suspected of being spies or terrorists. The ICJ decision was a favourable outcome for Pakistan as the court did not order the acquittal and release of Jadhav
