Islamabad: Pakistan has granted consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is facing death sentence in a Pakistani jail, on Monday. However, the terms of the consular access has not been specified.
India had been asking Pakistan about consular access to the detained Indian as per the orders of the International Court of Justice. Though, Pakistan had announced consular access on 2 August, India refused it on the terms of the consular access.
Pakistan insisted that Indian officials can meet Khulbhushan Jadhav only in the presence of a Pakistani official. India refuted this terms and demanded unrestricted access as enshrined in the Vienna Convention for Consular Relations.
Indian External Ministry has not still responded to today’s Pakistan’s offer. The Pakistani side has not yet come out with the terms of the access. If it is in the presence of a Pakistani official or in a room with cameras, then India is likely to reject Pakistan’s offer.
Kulbhushan Jadhav was kidnapped from Balochistan by Pakistani security forces on March, 2016 on trumped up charges of espionage. Pakistan had denied consular access to Jadhav even after repeated appeals by Indian authorities. Jadhav was later sentenced to death by a military court.
However, India approached the International Court of Justice in Hague which put a moratorium on the carrying out of the sentence and ordered Pakistan to allow consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav.
