India asks Pakistan to give unconditional access to Kulbhushan Jadhav

India has asked Pakistan to give unconditional access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, sources told ANI on Thursday.

Earlier, Pakistan had claimed that he had refused to file a review plea. India said that he had been coerced into doing that.

India had last Thursday said it was assessing all legal options in the case related to Indian national Kulbushan Jadhav, who is on death row in Pakistan and assured that it was committed to protecting the life of Indian nationals.

Pakistan had earlier claimed that Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer, has refused to initiate review petition of his sentence and conviction.

"We had pointed out how Pakistan's claim that Kulbushan Jadhav has refused to initiate a review petition, is a continuation of the farce playing out for the last 4 years. We are assessing our legal options and we remain committed to protecting the life of our Indian nationals," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had said during a media briefing.

India had also dismissed Pakistan's claims that Jadhav has refused to file an appeal in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against his conviction and stated that the Indian national was coerced by Islamabad to forego his rights to seek implementation of the judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

India sought unimpeded access to Jadhav to discuss his remedies under the Ordinance that allowed the High Court to review the sentence awarded by Pakistan's military court.
 

Kulbhushan Jadhav's friends offer special prayers, ahead of ICJ verdict, in Mumbai. | Photo: Kamlesh Pednekar

"Pakistan's claim that Jadhav, who is incarcerated in Pakistan's custody, has refused to initiate review petition is a continuation of the farce that has been in play for the last four years. Jadhav has been sentenced to execution through a farcical trial. He remains under custody of Pakistan's military. He has clearly been coerced to refuse to file a review in his case," Srivastava had said in the statement.

Jadhav was purportedly "arrested" from Balochistan by Pakistani security forces on March 3, 2016, after he allegedly entered the country from Iran as claimed by Islamabad. India has rejected Pakistan's allegations about Jadhav's involvement in spying and subversive activities and said he was kidnapped from the Iranian port of Chabahar where he was running a business.

Srivastava had said, "Since 2017, when Military Court carried out a farcical trial, Pakistan has refused to hand over any relevant document, including FIR, evidence, court order, etc in the case to India. Clearly, Pakistan is attempting to create a mirage of compliance with the ICJ judgment".