While Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav has refused to file a review of his case before the court, seeking instead a mercy appeal ahead of the July 20 deadline set in the matter, Pakistan remains determined to ensure that there are as few accusations of unfair play or inhumanity against it as possible. In a statement on Friday, the Foreign Office said that Kulbhushan had been granted a third consular access without the presence of security personnel. The decision has been conveyed to Indian authorities. Captured in March 2015 in Balochistan, Jadhav was declared a spy and sentenced to death for involvement in multiple acts of terrorism by a military court. India on the other hand says that though Jadhav is a former Indian navy officer, he was engaged in activities as a businessman which took him to Iran and from there brought across the border into Pakistan. The case may now be reaching its final stages.
Pakistan has said that Jhadav had already been provided unimpeded consular access on Indian request last year. This was for the second time that consular officials or family members were allowed to meet him, under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Pakistan has said it remains fully committed to implementing the International Court of Justice’s judgement of 2018 and hopes India would cooperate in this matter. The FO said that as a humanitarian gesture Jadhav would be allowed to meet his wife and father and also still have time to file a review petition. The ICJ had said that the review petition could be submitted till July 19. There have been strong protests in India over the death sentence, and the ICJ too raised some concerns that Pakistan had addressed. The continuing doubt about the precise identity of Jadhav and his activities inside Pakistan are not being discussed outside the closed military court where the hearing was held. Pakistan has said Jadhav gave sensitive information about RAW’s role in Pakistan which could not be made public.
The case is obviously a sensitive one. It is a well-established fact that Indian agents have been active in Balochistan, making use of the unrest in the province. They have to some degree fuelled it. It is obvious that Pakistan has carefully followed international conventions in ensuring humanity for Jadhav. The decision on how to handle the matter legally rests with him and his advisers. We wait to see if there will be any change after the latest meetings if these take place and what the final outcome in the matter will be.