'Tis the season, they say. Well, Pakistan has definitely shown some Christmas goodwill by allowing both the wife and mother of Kulbhushan Jadhav to meet him.
Pakistan has assured the Indian government of its sovereign protection of the two women while they are in Pakistan. It has also agreed to the Indian government's request to allow a diplomat from the India high commission to accompany the women at all times, including during their meeting with Jadhav. Pakistan has said the meeting may take place on December 25.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj lost no time in tweeting about these developments and calling up Jadhav's mother to convey the news. Ministry of external affairs say that this is a positive move from Pakistan, as far as access to Jadhav is concerned. India has been requesting for consular access to Jadhav ever since he was arrested in March, 2016.
Jadhav, a former naval officer, was arrested by Pakistani officials from the Chabahar area, says India. He was accused of espionage and planning terror attacks and sentenced to death by a military court in Pakistan this April.
India moved quickly, and in a coup of sorts, got the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to stay the execution till the matter was resolved. India alleges that Pakistan had conducted a summary trial in contravention of the Vienna Conventions regarding prisoners, and had also denied the basic human right of giving Jadhav consular access.
After India got the stay, and Pakistan frothed at the mouth over the international loss of face, India played the 'maa' card, requesting Pakistan to allow his mother to meet him. Pakistan initially gave no answer to the request, jsut as it hadn't heeded the multiple requests for consular access.
But Pakistan has to present its “memorial'' before the ICJ in a few days—on December 13. A memorial is its statement before the international court. There, Pakistan would have cut a shabby figure had it shown no initiative to provide a death row prisoner any access to his family. So, on November 13, interestingly just a month before the memorial, it offered to let Jadhav's wife meet him. India responded with alacrity, saying Mrs Jadhav would like to be accompanied by her mother-in-law. It also asked Pakistan to ensure that they would be under the sovereign protection of the state during their stay in Pakistan.
The two women, not being diplomats, do not have any diplomatic immunity. India also demanded that an official from the Indian mission in Paksitan be allowed to accompany the women at all times, including during the meeting. Pakistan has agreed to all these conditions.
The diplomat's presence during the meeting, however, cannot be considered consular access to Jadhav, which involves a completely different set of procedures. On that count, Pakistan will still have some answering to do.
For Jadhav, who has been incarcerated for a year and nine months, with no contact with the outside world, let alone a word from his family, Christmas will be an overwhelming day, no doubt.
But what then? The ICJ is not likely to give its final decision till next year, and Pakistan has repeatedly questioned whether the Jadhav case even gets covered under the Vienna convention, and therefore, can the ICJ's decision be binding over this case.
What happens next is anyone's guess. For the present though, December 25 will be “bada din”.
