\'Kulbhushan Jadhav under pressure to parrot Pak\'s narrative,\' says MEA

New Delhi/Islamabad: Shortly after the meeting between India's Deputy Commissioner to Pakistan, Gaurav Ahluwalia and death-row convict Kulbhushan Jadhav concluded in Islamabad, Minister of External Affairs (MEA) Raveesh Kumar said that the ex-naval officer appears to be "under extreme pressure".

The MEA said, "The Charge d’Affaires, High Commission of India in Islamabad, met Kulbhushan Jadhav today. While we await a comprehensive report, it was clear that he appeared to be under extreme pressure to parrot a false narrative to bolster Pak’s untenable claims."

He further said that a course of action will be decided after receiving details.

"We'll decide a further course of action after receiving a detailed report from our Charge d’ Affaires and determining the extent of conformity to the ICJ directives."

He also spoke Kulbhushan Jadhav's mother and briefed her of today’s developments.

A senior Indian diplomat on Monday met Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is on death row in Pakistan after Islamabad granted consular access to the Indian prisoner "in line with the ICJ judgement". Jadhav has been granted consular access for the first time since his detention in 2016.

The venue of the meeting was not disclosed.

The meeting came a month after a similar interaction between Indian officials and Jadhav did not materialise amid differences between New Delhi and Islamabad on the terms of the consular access to the retired Indian navy officer.

Jadhav, 49, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of "espionage and terrorism" in April 2017, following which India had moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ), seeking a stay on his death sentence and further remedies.

On Sunday, Foreign Office Spokesman Mohammad Faisal tweeted that consular access for Kulbhushan Jadhav would be provided on September 2 "in line with Vienna Convention on Consular relations, ICJ judgement & the laws of Pakistan".

The consular access to Jadhav came amidst fresh Indo-Pak tensions, which spiked after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two union territories. India had demanded "immediate, effective and unhindered" consular access to Jadhav from Pakistan and was in touch with Islamabad through diplomatic channels.

However, it is not yet clear if the consular access provided on Monday was unhindered as demanded by India. On August 1, Pakistan Foreign Office said the retired Indian Navy officer will be granted consular access the next day. However, the meeting, which was scheduled for 3 pm on August 2, did not materialise amid differences between India and Pakistan on the terms of the consular access to Jadhav.

On July 17, the ICJ ordered Pakistan to undertake an "effective review and reconsideration" of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav and also to grant consular access to India without further delay. One of the conditions put by Pakistan reportedly was the presence of a Pakistani official when Jadhav is allowed to meet Indian officials as part of the consular access. India did not agree to the condition, making clear its position that the consular access must be "unimpeded" and should be in the light of the judgement by the ICJ.

Pakistan claims that its security forces arrested Jadhav from the restive Balochistan province on March 3, 2016, after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy.