Jadhav under pressure to parrot Pakistan's false narrative: MEA

Hours after its official had consular access to him in Islamabad, India on Monday said that former naval officer Kulbushan Jadhav appeared to be "under extreme pressure to parrot a false narrative to bolster Pakistan's untenable claims".

The Ministery of External Affairs said it will decide further course of action after receiving a detailed report from Charge d' Affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia, who met Jadhav, and determining the extent of conformity to the ICJ directives.

Replying to queries on the issue, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that consular access given to Jadhav on Monday was part of the binding obligations of Pakistan on the orders of the International Court of Justice to ensure effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence awarded to Jadhav through "a farcical process".

The statement came hours after Ahluwalia met Jadhav, who has been charged by Pakistan with involvement in spying and subversive activities.

"The Charge d' Affaires, High Commission of India in Islamabad, met Kulbhushan Jadhav today. This meeting was held in the light of the unanimous judgement of the International Court of Justice delivered on July 17, 2019 which found Pakistan in egregious violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963 on many counts and ordered Pakistan to provide Indian consular officers access to Jadhav," he said.

"While we await a comprehensive report, it was clear that Jadhav appeared to be under extreme pressure to parrot a false narrative to bolster Pakistan's untenable claims. We will decide a further course of action after receiving a detailed report from our Cd'A and determining the extent of conformity to the ICJ directives," he added.

Kumar said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar spoke to Jadhav's mother and briefed her on today's developments.

He said the government remains committed to continue to work towards ensuring that "Jadhav receives justice at the earliest and returns safely to India."

Pakistan had announced in April 2017 that Jadhav had been given death sentence by a military court.

India has rejected Pakistan's allegations against Jadhav and said he was kidnapped by from Iranian port of Chabahar where he was running a business.