ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has provided second consular access to Indian spy Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav at the Indian request, the Foreign Office confirmed on Thursday.
“Two consular officers of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad were provided unimpeded and uninterrupted consular access to Commander Jadhav at 1500 hours,” a Foreign Office Statement said issued here. The Foreign Office said Pakistan remained committed to fully implementing the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s judgment of July 17, 2019. “It is hoped that India will cooperate with the Pakistan court in giving full effect to the said judgment,” it said. Last year, Jadhav was given first consular access under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR) 1963 on September 2.
Earlier, the mother and wife of Commander Jadhav were also allowed to meet him on December 25, 2017 as a humanitarian gesture.
Indian serving navy Commander Jadhav is in Pakistan’s custody following his arrest from Balochistan in a counter-intelligence operation on March 3, 2016. He was awarded death sentence on charges of espionage after he confessed to his involvement in terrorist activities inside Pakistan that resulted in loss of many precious human lives. He also made important revelations about RAW’s role in sponsoring state-terrorism in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, India has accepted Pakistan’s offer of second consular access to Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav. They said Indian Charge d’Affaires visited the Foreign Office today to convey New Delhi’s acceptance of the offer. Kulbhushan Jadhav, an RAW agent, is likely to be granted second consular access today.
Speaking at a press conference on July 8, Additional Attorney-General Ahmed Irfan and Director-General of South Asia and SAARC Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry had said Islamabad offered to help arrange legal representation for the Indian spy. Pakistan time and again wrote to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to institute a review petition against the sentence of Jadhav, Chaudhry said, asking New Delhi to follow due legal procedure and cooperate with Pakistani courts to ensure implementation of the judgment of the International Court of Justice.
Lately, Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqi in a statement had said Pakistan has invited India to file review and reconsideration petition after refusal by Commander Jadhav to do so.
She said mercy petition in Commander Jadhav case is a separate process that has nothing to do with the review and reconsideration. “The review and reconsideration petition can be filed by (a) Commander Jadhav himself, (b) legally authorized representative, or (c) a consular officer of the Indian High Commission. While Commander Jadhav’s mercy petition is still pending, India is invited to file review and reconsideration petition to give effect to the Judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ),” she explained.–Agencies
