Kulbhushan Jadhav under pressure to parrot Pakistan's false narrative: MEA

Hours after India's Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad, Gaurav Ahluwalia, met Kulbhushan Jadhav at the sub-jail in Islamabad, the ministry of external affairs said Jadhav appeared to be under extreme pressure to parrot a false narrative to bolster Pakistan's untenable claims.

The diplomat met the retired Indian Navy officer for an hour after Pakistan granted consular access to Jadhav "in line with the ICJ judgement".

According to Dawn, no official statement regarding the meet has been issued yet.

Before meeting Jadhav, the senior Indian diplomat met Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal at the foreign ministry.

Jadhav, 49, 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 , seeking a stay on his death sentence and further remedies.

On August 1, the foreign office said the retired Indian Navy officer will 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 Jadhav.

India had demanded "immediate, effective and unhindered" consular access to Jadhav from Pakistan and was in touch with Islamabad through diplomatic channels.

The consular access to Jadhav came amidst fresh Indo-Pak tensions, which spiked after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two union territories.

(With PTI inputs)