Days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rapped Pakistan for not granting consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, Islamabad has reportedly allowed Indian officials to meet the Indian Navy officer tomorrow.
According to reports, Pakistan said that it will be offering consular access to Jadhav tomorrow, who was on a death row on charges of spying for RAW.
Reacting to the development, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that the Government had received a proposal from Pakistan offering consular access to Jadhav adding that the ministry was evaluating the proposal in the light of ICJ judgement.
We will maintain communication with Pakistan in this matter through diplomatic channels, he said.
In a huge victory for India, the International Court of Justice on July 17 ordered Pakistan not to execute Kulbhushan Jadhav and directed “effective review and reconsideration” of his conviction and the sentence awarded to him by a military court.
The world court, while rejecting all objections raised by Pakistan, directed it to grant consular access to Jadhav “without further delay”, while holding that it had “breached” the Vienna Convention in this regard by denying him this right.
The ICJ gave a detailed verdict on Wednesday, rejecting all the objections of Pakistan, including one unanimously on the admissibility of the case and also the claims by Islamabad that India had not provided the actual nationality of Jadhav.
The verdict was 15 to one in favour of India – the lone dissenter being from Pakistan.
It ordered, “a continued stay of execution” on Kulbhushan Jadhav, saying it “constitutes an indispensable condition for the effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence” of the accused.
A day after ICJ directed Pakistan to grant consular access to Jadhav, its foreign office said it has informed Jadhav of his rights to consular access under the Vienna Convention.
However, the statement said that Pakistan will grant consular access to Jadhav “according to Pakistani laws”.
“As a responsible state, Pakistan will grant consular access to Commander Kulbushan Jadhav according to Pakistani laws, for which modalities are being worked out,” it said.
Pakistan had earlier sought to give its own spin to the judgment of ICJ in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, saying the Hague-based Court has decided not to acquit/release him, thus not accepting India’s plea.
Meanwhile, the Indian government last week confirmed that it was in touch with Pakistan to give ‘full’ consular access to former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav at the earliest in compliance and conformity with the recent ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR).
“We are in touch with Pakistan through diplomatic channels. We have conveyed our demand for full consular access. We are awaiting a response,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a media briefing.