Pakistan has decided to grant consular access to Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav today (Friday) in light of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) July 17 verdict and a proposal to this effect has been extended to Indian government for response, Foreign Office said. "We have offered the Indian High Commission to avail consular access [to Jadhav] on this Friday [today]. The reply from the Indian side is awaited," Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal told his weekly media briefing on Thursday.
Indian External Affairs Ministry's Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, while briefing media persons in New Delhi, confirmed that a proposal from Pakistan has been received and the Indian government is evaluating it in light of the ICJ's verdict. "We have received a proposal from Pakistan. We are, at this point, evaluating the proposal in light of the ICJ verdict. We will maintain communication with Pakistan through diplomatic channels," Kumar stated.
Jadhav was arrested on March 3, 2016 by security forces in Balochistan. A military court awarded him death sentence on April 10, 2017, following his confession for involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan. Responding to a question about the reported arrest of an alleged Indian spy in Dera Ghazi Khan, Dr Faisal said that he has seen the media reports and sought details.
On the Kartarpur Corridor, he said that a meeting between Pakistan and India is expected soon to finalise the modalities and culminate the process. Responding to another query about any follow-up on President Trump's offer of mediation on Kashmir, he said that President Trump raised the issue of mediation about the Jammu and Kashmir dispute saying that Indian Prime Minister had requested him for it.
"There is no doubt that it is a monumental success of our foreign policy that President Trump raised this issue and expressed his desire to mediate and help to resolve this dispute. This is a very positive development. We will certainly follow it up actively," he added.
He said that Pakistan has welcomed Trump's offer. "We look forward to positive developments and resolution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute as per the UN Security Council Resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people," he added. Expressing alarms over the deployment of additional 10,000 Indian troops in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, he said that these measures are interpreted by Kashmiris to mean that the ground is being prepared to counter the fallout after the possible abolition of Articles 35-A and 370 which grant special status to IOK.
Asked about the available options with Pakistan in case 35-A is scrapped, he said that Kashmir is the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy. "This should not be conceived that Pakistan will take it lightly. We will exercise all the options available in light of the UN Security Council resolutions and no stone will be left unturned in our efforts to foil any such move," he cautioned.
About any follow-up on President Trump's expected visit to Pakistan, he said that President Trump has agreed to visit Pakistan in response to the invitation by Prime Minister Khan. "The details of the visit would be worked out in due course," he added.
About the peace process in Afghanistan, the spokesperson said that Pakistan has been facilitating the peace process and talks with the Taliban in good faith and as a shared responsibility of the international community to bring peace, security and stability in Afghanistan and the entire region.
He said that Prime Minister Khan is personally committed to Afghan peace process. "We will continue stressing for a comprehensive all-inclusive Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process and in this regard we are working with all stakeholders," he said.
He also stated that matters related to the visit of the Taliban, as announced by the Prime Minister, are being finalised. "I would reiterate Pakistan's position on the peace process, which is to facilitate peace talks in good faith and as a shared responsibility. We have noted the outcome of the two-day intra-Afghan talks held in Doha last month, where the Afghan groups agreed on a broad road map for the future of Afghanistan. We hope that the next round of intra-Afghan talks would be more comprehensive and all-inclusive," he hoped.
The intra-Afghan talks are internal political matter of Afghanistan, he said, adding that Pakistan would continue to support an outcome acceptable to all Afghans in line with the efforts made by the US and international community. "As the talks are continuing, we must not prejudge the conclusions," he added.