By Muhammad Luqman
Pakistan on Monday provided consular access to Indian spy Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav as Indian Deputy High Commssioner, Gaurav Ahluwalia held a two hours meeting with the condemned prisoner in the capital, Islamabad.
Jadhav, 49, is a serving Indian Navy officer and RAW operative sentenced to death by a military court for espionage and terrorism in Pakistan.
”Consular access was provided at 1200 hours and lasted for two (02) hours, in the presence of officials of the Government of Pakistan. On Indian request, there was no restriction on the language of communication. In order to ensure transparency and in line with standard operating procedures, and as conveyed to the Indian side in advance, the access was recorded,” according to Pakistan Foreign Office statement on Monday.
The Pakistani security forces arrested him in the Balochistan province on March 3, 2016. The consular access is being granted in line with a judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Vienna Convention on consular relations.
In December 2017, the Indian spy met with his mother and wife in a room that was specially built at the Foreign Office.
Foreign Affairs Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said consular access was given to the Indian spy as Pakistan had always wanted peace in the region and did feel that war was the last option between the two countries.
