–Statement says convicted RAW spy ‘appeared to be under extreme pressure to parrot Pakistan’s false narrative’
–Indian diplomat holds two-hour-long ‘unimpeded, uninterrupted’ meeting with Jadhav
ISLAMABAD: India on Monday admitted that convicted spy Kulbhushan Jadhav’s statement to its senior diplomat during consular access supported Pakistan’s stand on the case, but claimed that the convicted spy was ‘under extreme pressure’.
“[Jadhav] appeared to be under extreme pressure to parrot a false narrative to bolster Pakistan’s untenable claims,” the Indian External Affairs Ministry said in a statement while referring to the convicted spy’s two-hour-long meeting with Charge d’ Affaires at the Indian High Commission Gaurav Ahluwalia in Islamabad on Monday.
The statement comes hours after Pakistan formally granted the consular access to the convicted spy in line with Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, ICJ verdict and the laws of Pakistan.
Ahluwalia met Jadhav at an undisclosed venue due to sensitivity attached to the matter.
“While we await a comprehensive report, it was clear that Shri Jadhav appeared to be under extreme pressure to parrot a false narrative to bolster Pakistan’s untenable claims,” said a statement issued by India’s External Affairs Ministry. “We will decide a further course of action after receiving a detailed report from our Cd’A and determining the extent of conformity to the ICJ directives,” it added.
According to the statement, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar also spoke to Jadhav’s mother and briefed her of Monday’s developments.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office, on the other hand, maintained that there was no restriction on the language of communication during the meeting on India’s request. “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,” it added.
“As a responsible member of the international community and in line with our international commitments, Pakistan has provided unimpeded and uninterrupted consular access to Commander Jadhav.”
Before meeting Jadhav, Ahluwalia told AFP that New Delhi hoped “Pakistan will ensure right atmosphere so that the meeting is free, fair, meaningful and effective in keeping with the letter and spirit of the ICJ orders”.
On Sunday, Pakistan said it would grant consular access to Jadhav, weeks after the ICJ urged Pakistan to undertake “effective review” of the case, adding that a “continued stay of execution” was needed for that to happen.
“Consular access for Indian spy Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, a serving Indian naval officer and RAW operative, is being provided on Monday 2 September 2019,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said in a tweet late Sunday.
“Commander Jadhav remains in Pakistan’s custody, for espionage, terrorism, and sabotage,” he said in another tweet.
Jadhav was arrested on March 3, 2016, in a counter-intelligence operation in Balochistan. A military court awarded him death sentence on April 10, 2017, following his confession that he had mounted operations for RAW to conduct terrorist activities on Pakistani soil.
In June 2017, the Indian spy filed a mercy petition against death penalty, in which he again confessed to his involvement in terrorist activities.
However, before Pakistani authorities could make a final decision, the ICJ, after being approached by India, ordered a stay in his execution through an interim order.
In its final verdict announced on July 17, the ICJ asked Pakistan to provide consular access to Jadhav under the Vienna Convention.
However, the Hague-based ICJ had rejected India’s request for acquittal, release and return of Commander Jadhav.
Following the verdict, the FO had announced that that as a responsible state, Pakistan would grant consular access to Jadhav according to the country’s laws, for which modalities were being worked out.
It said that pursuant to the ICJ judgement, Jadhav had been informed of his rights under Article 36, Paragraph 1(b) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
In its verdict that followed proceedings lasting about two years, the UN’s top court did not accept India’s contention that Jadhav was entitled to ‘restitutio in integrum’ (restoration to original position) and turned down its request to annul the decision of the Pakistani military court.
Instead, it ruled that Pakistan by means of its own choosing could undergo an effective review and reconsideration of the sentence awarded to Jadhav.
The ICJ said that even though it had found Pakistan in violation of Article 36 the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR), “it is not the conviction and sentence of Jadhav which are to be regarded as a violation of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention.”
The most the ICJ said it could do was to order Pakistan to cease violation of Article 36 and review the case in light of how that violation might have affected the case’s outcome.
“The court notes that Pakistan acknowledges that the appropriate remedy in the present case would be effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence,” it observed.
To this end, Pakistan was directed to immediately inform Jadhav of his rights under Article 36, grant India consular access, and then review the case while considering, under the laws of Pakistan, how not doing so earlier might have impacted the case’s outcome.
“The Court notes that the obligation to provide effective review and reconsideration can be carried out in various ways. The choice of means is left to Pakistan,” the ICJ added. However, it stressed that “Pakistan shall take all measures to provide for effective review and reconsideration, including, if necessary, by enacting appropriate legislation.”
In December 2017, Pakistan had allowed family members of Jadhav to have a meeting with him. India later accused Pakistan of harassing Jadhav’s family during the meeting that it said was held in an “atmosphere of coercion”. Pakistan on the other hand had denied the allegation.