Pakistan to grant consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, India evaluating proposal

New Delhi/Islamabad: Pakistan has decided to grant consular access to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, a fortnight after the ICJ ruling, and has informed India about it.

New Delhi confirmed on Thursday it has received the Pakistani proposal and said it will communicate with Islamabad through diplomatic channels.

Amid reports that Pakistan has set some conditions on providing consular access, like insisting that it will have its own person present during the meeting between Indian officials and Jadhav, India said that it is "evaluating" the Pakistani proposal in the "light of the judgement of the ICJ ruling".

"I am not getting into the modalities. We have received a proposal from Pakistan, and we are evaluating it in the light of judgment of the ICJ. We will maintain communication with Pakistan through diplomatic channels," said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, answering queries at a media briefing in New Delhi.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammed Faisal, in an answer to a query at a media briefing in Islamabad, said: "We have offered the Indian High Commission to avail consular access on this Friday. The reply from the Indian side is awaited."

According to reports, the time for the consular access is 3 p.m. on Friday.

On July 18, Pakistan said it has informed Jadhav of his rights to consular access under the Vienna Convention, in accordance with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, and said it will grant consular access to the Indian national "according to Pakistani laws".

The move comes after the ICJ rapped Islamabad for continually denying Jadhav, incarcerated in a military jail in an unknown location in Pakistan, consular access in accordance with the Vienna Convention.

In its July 17 verdict, the ICJ had directed Pakistan for a continued stay on the death sentence of Jadhav and to provide him consular access.

Pakistan had refused to allow Indian officials to meet Jadhav ever since his "arrest" in March 2016 for alleged espionage.

In April 2017, he was sentenced to death by a military court, after which India approached the ICJ.