Kulbhushan given consular access second time

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday said India's ill-intentions were revealed when Pakistan provided New Delhi's diplomats uninterrupted consular access to RAW spy Kulbhushan Jadhav for a second time Thursday at the country's own request, but they left without meeting him in Islamabad.

"Two Indian diplomats were given consular access to Kulbhushan, according to what was agreed upon. (However), India's ill-intentions have been unmasked. They did not want consular access," Qureshi said.

The foreign minister said that Kulbhushan kept calling out to the Indian diplomats but they left. "He kept calling out to them, saying he wanted to meet them, but they left saying the environment was unsuitable," Qureshi said.

"The Indian diplomats' behaviour was surprising. Why did the diplomats ask for consular access when they did not even want to talk to Kulbhushan?" asked Qureshi.

The minister underlined that last year, when consular access was provided the first time, the diplomats had objected to a glass wall in the middle, as well as the audio and video recording of the meeting.

"All of the diplomats' wishes were fulfilled today (Thursday) but they left nonetheless," he said, adding that they made excuses "the space is constrained and the environment not suitable".

Meanwhile, Pakistan and India agreed that Kulbhushan would file a review petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), challenging his death sentence announced by a military court.

The agreement was announced by New Delhi after Pakistan provided a second consular access to Indian Kulbhushan at Delhi’s request. The Foreign Office said that Pakistan had offered once again a chance to file an appeal in the IHC against his conviction and subsequent death sentence by a military court.

“The time limit for filing a review petition is 60 days (set to expire on July 19). We hope that India will cooperate in this regard,” said the Foreign Office spokesperson.

Pakistan says that the first consular access under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR) 1963 was earlier provided by Pakistan on September 02, 2019. The mother and wife of Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav were also allowed to meet him on December 25, 2017.

“Commander Jadhav is in Pakistan’s custody following his arrest from Balochistan in a counter-intelligence operation on March 03, 2016. During investigation, Jadhav confessed to his involvement in terrorist activities inside Pakistan that resulted in loss of many precious human lives. He also made important revelations about RAW’s role in sponsoring state terrorism in Pakistan,” said the Foreign Office.

The statement added that Pakistan remained committed to fully implementing the International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgement of July 17, 2019. Qureshi said that Jadhav had himself confessed to carrying out terrorism in Pakistan.

“We accepted the decision of the ICJ, India’s attitude has always been negative in this regard and they have not shown cooperation,” he said. “However, our thinking is positive and we have presented all the facts to the world. We are proceeding forward within the parameters of the law,” he added.

He added that the current Indian government had an extreme mindset which did not care for human rights or the law. “China has tried to improve relations between the two countries, but even China was not spared,” he said.

“They also targeted Bangladesh and their attitude with Sri Lanka is in front of the world,” the minister said.

“India is facing setbacks at a global level. If the current Hindutva mindset prevails, then we cannot expect any improvement,” Qureshi said.