Islamabad: India’s Deputy High Commissioner here, Gaurav Ahluwalia met Monday death-row convict Kulbhushan Jadhav after Pakistan granted consular access to him ‘in line with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgement’.
The meeting between Ahluwalia and the retired Indian Navy officer is currently underway at a sub-jail after Pakistan formally granted the consular access to him, ‘Dawn News’ reported. Before meeting Kulbhushan Jadhav, the senior Indian diplomat met Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal at the foreign ministry.
The meeting between Ahluwalia and Kulbhushan Jadhav came a month after a similar interaction between Indian officials and the Indian prisoner failed to materialise amid differences between New Delhi and Islamabad on the terms of the consular access.
Jadhav, 49, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of ‘espionage and terrorism’ in April 2017, following which India had moved the ICJ, seeking a stay on his death sentence and further remedies.
Faisal had earlier tweeted Sunday that consular access for Jadhav will be provided September 2 ‘in line with Vienna Convention on Consular relations, ICJ judgement and the laws of Pakistan’.
The consular access to Jadhav came amidst fresh Indo-Pak tensions, which spiked after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories.
Pakistan expelled August 7, Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria after it downgraded the diplomatic ties with India over the Kashmir issue.
India had demanded ‘immediate, effective and unhindered’ consular access to Jadhav from Pakistan and was in touch with Islamabad through diplomatic channels. However, it is not yet clear if the consular access provided on Monday was unhindered as demanded by India.
PTI
