A top Indian diplomat met Kulbhushan Jadhav in the presence of the government officials on Monday, as Pakistan formally granted the consular access to the convicted RAW [Research and Analysis Wing] spy in line with the judgement of International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Foreign Office said. "Pursuant to the decision of the International Court of Justice, Pakistan provided consular access on 02 September, 2019 to India for Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, Indian spy, serving Indian Naval officer and RAW operative," Spokesperson Foreign Office Dr Mohammad Faisal said.
He said that Charge d'Affaires of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad Gaurav Ahluwalia availed the consular access which was provided in line with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, ICJ verdict and the laws of Pakistan. "Consular access was provided at 1200 hours and lasted for two (02) hours, in the presence of officials of the government of Pakistan," the spokesperson said.
He further stated that on Indian request, there was no restriction on the language of communication. "In order to ensure transparency and in line with standard operating procedures, and as conveyed to the Indian side in advance, the access was recorded," the spokesperson added. As a responsible member of the international community and in line with international commitments, Faisal said that Pakistan has provided unimpeded and uninterrupted consular access to India to Commander Jadhav.
In a statement, Indian External Affairs Ministry's Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar stated that the Charge d' Affaires, High Commission of India in Islamabad, met Jadhav and the meeting was held in the light of unanimous judgement of the International Court of Justice delivered on 17 July 2019.
"While we await a comprehensive report, it was clear that Shri Jadhav appeared to be under extreme pressure to parrot a false narrative to bolster Pakistan's untenable claims. We will decide a further course of action after receiving a detailed report from our Cd'A and determining the extent of conformity to the ICJ directives," Kumar further said.
"Today's consular access is a part of the binding obligations of Pakistan, as ordered by the ICJ, to ensure effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence awarded to Shri Jadhav through a farcical process," he said, adding, "The government remains committed to continue to work towards ensuring that Shri Jadhav receives justice at the earliest and returns safely to India."
Jadhav was arrested in a counter-intelligence operation in Balochistan in March 2016 and a military court awarded him death sentence on April 10, 2017 following his confessional statement that he had mounted operations for the RAW to conduct terrorist activities in Pakistan.
In June 2017, the Indian spy filed a mercy petition against death penalty, in which he again confessed to his involvement in terrorist activities. The ICJ, after being approached by India, ordered a stay in Jadhav's execution through an interim order and a consular access under the Vienna Convention in the court's final verdict announced on July 17, 2019.
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