Pakistan to grant consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav tomorrow

Islamabad: Pakistan, on Sunday, said it would provide Consular access for Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former naval officer who has been sentenced to death by a court alleged for "espionage and terrorism".

A tweet from Pakistan's foreign office said India will be given consular access to him on Monday "in line with Vienna Convention on Consular relations, ICJ judgement and the laws of Pakistan".

Kulbhushan Jadhav, 49 -- sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court in April 2017 -- will be given consular access for the first time, NDTV reported.

After repeated requests to Islamabad, New Delhi raised the matter before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, which was also hearing New Delhi's appeal for the cancellation of his death sentence.

India maintains Jadhav is a retired Naval officer, who was abducted from Iran, where he was running a business. In one of the earlier hearings, the court asked Pakistan to hold off his execution till it reaches its final verdict in the case.

In July, the ICJ ordered Pakistan to review and reconsider the conviction and sentence of Jadhav and also to grant consular access to India without any delay.

The court endorsed India's stand that Pakistan had violated the Vienna convention by denying consular access to Jadhav after his conviction in a "farcical" closed trial.

Earlier this month, the Pakistan Foreign Office said Jadhav will be granted consular access the next day. But the meeting did not take place after New Delhi and Islamabad disagreed on the terms.

Pakistan wanted one of its officials to be present when Jadhav meets the Indian officials.

India, however, rejected the idea, reiterating its stance that consular access must be "unimpeded" and should be in the light of the judgment by the International Court of Justice.