India summons Pakistan's senior diplomat on Jadhav
Pakistani diplomatic sources also confirmed that the meeting had taken place.
New Delhi/Islamabad: India on Wednesday summoned the Pakistan deputy high commissioner on the issue of death penalty given recently to Indian former naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav by a Pakistani military court and reportedly made a fresh demand for consular access.
Till late evening the Pakistan government was yet to react publicly on the matter.
Pakistan’s deputy high commissioner Syed Haidar Shah was called by the ministry of external affairs, who reiterated that Mr Jadhav was innocent and false charges had been framed against him. Pakistani diplomatic sources also confirmed that the meeting had taken place.
India had recently placed its 14th request for consular access to Mr Jadhav. Reports from Pakistan have suggested that the Pakistan Army is not in favour of granting consular access at all.
Meanwhile, according to news agency reports from Islamabad, the scheduled meeting between the Indian high commissioner Gautam Bambawale and Pakistan’s foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua was rescheduled and a new date would be announced later.
Sources in the Pakistan foreign office had earlier said that Mr Bambawale had sought a meeting with the foreign secretary on Wednesday evening to discuss the issue of Kulbhushan Jadhav. Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor is reported to have already rejected any chance of granting consular access to Mr Jadhav, who was sentenced to death on charges of espionage and subversive activities.
In New Delhi, Mr Shah’s summoning comes five days after Mr Bambawale had met the Pakistan foreign secretary and had then sought a certified copy of the chargesheet and the Army court order in the case, besides placing the 14th request for consular access to the retired Indian navy officer. The previous 13 requests were placed in the past one year.
“We definitely want to appeal against the judementa but we cannot do it unless we have the details of charges and a copy of the verdict. So, my demand was that the details of the chargesheet and a copy of the verdict be provided to us,” Mr Bambawale had said.
Expressing disappointment over Pakistan repeatedly turning down India’s request for consular access to Mr Jadhav, the Indian envoy had also said, “They have denied our request for consular access 13 times (in the last one year). I have forcefully asked for consular access on the basis of the international law and on humanitarian grounds as he is an Indian national.”