Pakistan offers consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav on Monday

Pakistan said it would provide consular access to retired Indian Navy officer  Kulbhushan Jadhav on Monday “in accordance with Vienna Convention”. The announcement was made by Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal on Twitter.

“Consular access for Indian spy Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, a serving Indian naval officer and RAW operative, is being provided on Monday 2 September 2019, in line with Vienna Convention on Consular relations, ICJ judgement & the laws of Pakistan,” Faisal said.

Jadhav, 49, a retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of "espionage and terrorism" in April 2017, following which India had moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

In July, the Hague-based ICJ ordered Pakistan to grant India consular access to Jadhav without further delay.

On Thursday, India said it had asked for "immediate, effective and unhindered" consular access to Jadhav from Pakistan and that it was in touch with the neighbouring country through diplomatic channels.

India had sent a communication to Pakistan, virtually turning down Islamabad's conditional offer of providing consular access to Jadhav.

On August 1, Pakistan Foreign Office said Jadhav would be granted consular access the next day. However, the meeting, which was scheduled for 3 pm on August 2, did not materialise amid differences between India and Pakistan on the terms of the consular access to the retired Indian Navy officer. 

Pakistan claims that 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.