Islamabad: Pakistan assured to grant consular access to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, for which modalities are being worked out, the Foreign Ministry said in a late night statement.
The ministry also said that Kulbhushan Jadhav had been informed of his rights under the Vienna Convention on consular relations. “Pursuant to the decision of the ICJ, Kulbhushan Jadhav has been informed of his rights under Article 36, Paragraph 1(b) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” the Foreign Ministry said.
“As a responsible state, Pakistan will grant consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav according to Pakistani laws, for which modalities are being worked out,” it said.
The 49-year old retired Indian Navy officer, Kulbhushan Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of “espionage and terrorism” in April 2017 following which India had moved the International Court of Justice, seeking a stay on his death sentence and further remedies.
A 16-member bench headed by President of the Court, Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, by 15-1 votes ordered Pakistan on Wednesday to undertake an “effective review and reconsideration” of the conviction and sentence of Kulbhushan Jadhav and also to grant consular access to India without further delay.
The court was of the view that Pakistan had indeed violated the Vienna Convention which gives countries consular access when their citizens are arrested in a foreign country. It said that Pakistan deprived India its right to communicate and have access to Kulbhushan Jadhav and also denied meeting with him and to arrange legal help.
