New Delhi: Pakistan on Thursday blocked consular access to former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, saying that there would be no second access to the Indian national, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court.
Mohammad Faisal, spokesperson of the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced this in a statement.
Pakistan had on September 2 granted consular access for the first time to the Indian death-row convict Jadhav in line with the “Vienna Convention and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict” after prolonged negotiation between India and Pakistan over terms and conditions for consular access.
Indian diplomat Gaurav Ahluwalia had met Jadhav at a sub-jail for an hour. Despite India’s objections, the Pakistani officials, too, were present in the room where the meeting between Kulbhushan Jadhav and the Indian envoy took place. Not only were they present, but the entire proceeding was also recorded.
Islamabad later issued a statement saying that the meeting was recorded to “ensure transparency”.
India also issued a statement and said that Kulbhushan Jadhav appeared to be under “extreme pressure” to parrot a false Pakistani narrative in his case.
Jadhav was “arrested” from Balochistan by Pakistani security forces on March 3, 2016 on charges of espionage and terrorism. Pakistan has claimed that Jadhav was arrested after he entered the country from Iran.
India has, however, consistently rejected Pakistan’s claims and maintained that Jadhav was kidnapped when he was in Iran on a business trip.
