Kulbhushan Jadhav 'under extreme pressure to parrot Pak narrative': MEA
An Indian official on Monday met Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is on death row in Pakistan, for the first time after he was granted consular access. Earlier in the day, official sources said that Indian Charge D'affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia will meet Jadhav on Monday.
Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is on death row in Pakistan for alleged espionage, “appeared to be under extreme pressure to parrot a false narrative to bolster Pakistan’s untenable claims”, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday (September 2).
Indian official Indian Charge D’affaires (head of the mission) Gaurav Ahluwalia had earlier met Jadhav for the first time after the neighbouring country granted consular access to him “in line with the ICJ’s orders”.
The ministry said that the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has spoken to Jadhav’s mother and briefed her of the day’s developments.
“We”ll decide a further course of action after receiving a detailed report from our Charge d’ Affaires and determining the extent of conformity to the ICJ directives,” it said.
The Pakistan government’s announcement came nearly six months after a meeting 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.
Jadhav, 49, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of “espionage and terrorism” in April 2017, following which India had moved ICJ, seeking a stay on his death sentence and further remedies.
Also read: India asks Pakistan for ‘unimpeded’ consular access to Jadhav
“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,” foreign office spokesman Mohammad Faisal tweeted.
“Commander Jadhav remains in Pakistan’s custody, for espionage, terrorism and sabotage,” he added.
Earlier, addressing a weekly media briefing on Thursday, Faisal said that Pakistan and India were in contact on the “issue of granting consular access” to Jadhav.
On the same day, India said it had asked for “immediate, effective and unhindered” consular access to Jadhav from Pakistan and was in touch with the neighbouring country through diplomatic channels.
However, Faisal’s tweets on Sunday doesn’t say if the consular access is unhindered as demanded by India.
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.
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 inputs from agencies)
