After 13 years, India gets consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav
New Delhi: After being slammed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for violation of the Vienna Convention on consular relations in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, a chastened Pakistan announced its decision to grant him consular access.
The announcement was made in a press statement from Islamabad issued after midnight Indian time on Friday.It added that Jadhav, a former Indian naval officer, has “been informed of his rights under Article 36, Paragraph 1(b) of the Vienna Convention”.
Consular access means an accused being allowed to meet diplomats from one’s own country for any assistance in legal or procedural matters. New Delhi had made it clear on Thursday that it expected Islamabad to immediately grant India consular access to Jadhav.
Pakistan had repeatedly refused consular access since 2016 and India had pointed this out to the ICJ when it took the case to Court in May, 2017.
In the press statement issued after midnight, Islamabad said, “Pursuant to the decision of the ICJ, (former) Commander Kulbushan Jadhav has been informed of his rights under Article 36, Paragraph 1(b) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. As a responsible state, Pakistan will grant consular access to Commander Kulbushan Jadhav according to Pakistani laws, for which modalities are being worked out.”
