Defense Update

After denial of 2nd access to Kulbhushan, India says will try for full implementation of ICJ order

Pakistan on Thursday said it has no plans to give India another consular access to former Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav held captive there and sentenced to death on charges of espionage. The Pakistan Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said in Islamabad  “there would be no second consular access to Jadhav.”

Pakistan had on September 2 granted the first consular access to Jadhav in line with the “Vienna Convention and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict” after much negotiation between India and Pakistan over terms and conditions for consular access.

Reacting to Pakistan’s decision, India on Thursday said it will keep trying to ensure that the judgment of ICJ is fully implemented and it will remain in touch with the Pakistani side through diplomatic channels.

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India is trying to resolve the issue via diplomatic channels. Kumar said, “We will keep trying that judgment of ICJ is fully implemented. We would like to remain in touch with the Pakistani side through diplomatic channels.”

Charged’ Affaires at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad Gaurav Ahluwalia met Jadhav on September 2 after Pakistan granted consular access to the retired Indian Navy officer following a directive from the ICJ.

After the meeting, the MEA said Jadhav appeared to be under “extreme pressure” to parrot a false narrative to bolster Pakistan’s untenable claims in his case.

Sources said the Government has received a detailed report from the Indian mission in Islamabad following the consular access. Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017. Weeks later, India approached the ICJ against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and to challenge the death sentence.

In its verdict in the case on July 17, the ICJ ordered Pakistan to undertake an “effective” review of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav and asked it to grant consular access to him without further delay.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from the restive Balochistan province on March 3, 2016, after he reportedly entered from Iran.

However, India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy.

On the recent developments in the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) over Kashmir, Kumar said Pakistan’s attempt to polarise and politicise the Kashmir issue at the UN was rejected.

He also said Pakistan needs to understand that “repeating a lie four or five times does not turn it into a gospel truth”.

The global community is aware about Pakistan’s role in aiding, abetting and supporting terrorist infrastructure which they have in their country, the Spokesperson said.

His remarks came two days after India and Pakistan engaged in a war of words over the Kashmir issue on Tuesday at the UNHRC in Geneva with New Delhi stoutly defending its “sovereign decision” to revoke J&K’s special status, an issue on which Islamabad demanded an international investigation by the global rights body.

“It is quite audacious on the part of Pakistan that the country which is harbouring terrorists, which is the epicentre of terrorism, is pretending to speak on behalf of the global community on human rights,” Kumar said.

(This story has not been edited by defupdateindia staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)