Pakistan has offered consular access to retired Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav. This comes after the judgment by the Hague-based International Court of Justice.
Retired Indian Navy officer has been offered consular access by Pakistan “in line with the ICJ judgement and state laws”. “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,” Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal promulgated on Monday.
India has not responded immediately to the offer, but reports suggest that it will only accept unrestricted and unimpeded private access. Reports added that India wants the consular access to be without Pakistani officials or video-audio surveillance. The development comes amidst strained relations between the two countries due to India’s move to repeal Article 370.
Pakistan had earlier offered consular access in August, but laid down several conditions such as video-audio surveillance and inclusion of Pakistani officials. India had rejected the offer, saying it was against the terms of the judgement by the International Court of Justice.
The move was taken weeks after the International Court of Justice in Hague directed Pakistan to immediately inform Jadhav of his rights under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention. The court ruled that Pakistan must undertake an “effective review and reconsideration” of Jadhav’s conviction and grant consular access without any delay. Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani court in April 2017, following which India moved the International Court of Justice.
According to Pakistan, Jadhav, 49, was apprehended on March 3, 2016 on charges of espionage. However, India has maintained that the retired Navy officer was abducted from Iran. Weeks after his capture, Pakistan’s military aired his purported confession on TV channels.
