Islamabad, August 2: Pakistan on Thursday granted consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, the retired Indian Navy officer, by August 2. However, Pakistan laid certain conditions before providing consular accesses to Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was was sentenced to death by its military court on the charges of espionage and terrorism back in April 2017. Pakistan Offers Consular Access to Kulbhushan Jadhav Tomorrow.
According to a report published in Business Today, Pakistan proposed that one of their officers must be present during the meeting between Jadhav and an Indian consular. Pakistani officials also demanded CCTV cameras installation during the meeting.
The conditions laid down by Pakistan for granting consular access are violation of Article 36, 1 para (a) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR). According to Article 36, both consular officers and nationals of the sending State should be free to communicate. India in Touch with Pakistan Seeking Consular Access to Kulbhushan Jadhav.
Meanwhile, India is yet to respond to Pakistan’s offer. Yesterday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had said, “The proposal sent by Pakistan is being evaluated by us as per the guidelines given by ICJ. Whatever response is to be sent will be given by us timely through diplomatic channels.”
A 16-member bench of the International Court of Justice on July 17, provided relief to Jadhav. The ICJ by a 15-1 vote continued the stay on Jadhav’s execution.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 02, 2019 02:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).