NEW DELHI: India is in contact with Pakistan through diplomatic channels and the government is taking all measures to ensure the security of Kulbhushan Jadhav, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MEA) said Thursday.
“We are in contact with Pakistan through diplomatic channels. Our government is taking all possible measures to ensure the safety of Kulbhushan Jadhav,” the MEA spokesman said. Anurag Srivastava he said during the weekly virtual briefing.
This comes after Pakistani media reported that the Islamabad High Court on Thursday gave India “another chance” to appoint a lawyer for Kulbhushan Jadhav. The Islamabad High Court adjourned the matter until October 6.
Last month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs India’s (MEA) had said that it had asked Pakistan to have Jadhav represented by an Indian lawyer to file a petition for review against his death sentence.
“We are in contact with Pakistan through diplomatic channels. We believe in a free and fair trial according to the letter and spirit of international Court of Justice (CIJ), we have asked that Jadhav be represented by an Indian lawyer, “said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava during a virtual briefing.
“However, it is important that Pakistan needs to address the core issues and these core issues involve providing all necessary documents in this case as well as providing unhindered consular access to Jadhav,” he said.
India has been asserting that the Pakistani side should provide unhindered, unhindered and unconditional consular access and has asked to ensure that the meeting takes place in an environment free from fear of retaliation and without the presence of any Pakistani officials in the vicinity of Jadhav. and Indian consular officers.
Pakistan has also been asked not to record (video and audio) the meeting.
The spokesperson has said that any conversation between Jadhav and High Commission officials must necessarily take place in privacy and without the presence of any Pakistani official or recording from Pakistan.
Pakistan claims that Jadhav was arrested in Baluchistan in 2016 on charges of espionage.
India has rejected Pakistan’s accusations and said he was kidnapped in the Iranian port of Chabahar. In early 2017, a Pakistani military court sentenced him to death.
The ICJ confirmed India’s claim that Pakistan has committed an egregious violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations for various reasons.
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