Pakistan says consular access to Jadhav on merit basis

The decision to provide consular access to alleged India 'spy' Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been awarded death sentence in Pakistan, will be taken on merit, the Foreign Office said on Thursday.

Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria told the media that Jadhav was prosecuted as per Pakistani law and his statements helped in intercepting a terrorist network in the country.

"We already have evidence in the Jadhav case," Geo TV quoted Zakaria as saying.

Jadhav, whose family stays in Mumbai and who was reportedly arrested in Balochistan, has been charged with espionage and waging war against Pakistan. India says he was abducted from Tehran, Iran.

The Foreign Office spokesman said former Tehreek-e-Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan in a recent confession video "has disclosed the presence of Research and Analysis Wing's (RAW) presence" in Pakistan.

Urging the international community to take notice of Ehsan's confessional video, Zakaria told the media that the former TTP spokesman's "statement exposed the real face of India".

He claimed that Ehsan's confession about TTP commander Khalid Khorasani's treatment in India is a proof that the TTP is assisted by RAW.

He said that Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies were "involved in sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan".

--IANS

py/vt