Kulbhushan under extreme pressure to parrot Pak's false narrative: MEA

This meeting between the Charge d’ Affaires, High Commission of India in Islamabad and Jadhav was held in the light of unanimous judgement of the International Court of Justice delivered on July 17 earlier this year, which found Pakistan in "egregious violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963 on many counts."

The ICJ had ordered Pakistan to provide Indian consular officers access to Jadhav.

After getting a comprehensive report, the Indian government will decide a further course of action determining the extent of conformity to the ICJ directives.

"Today’s consular access is a part of the binding obligations of Pakistan, as ordered by the ICJ, to ensure effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence awarded to Shri Jadhav through a farcical process," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told media.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has spoken to the mother of Jadhav and briefed her of the developments.

"The Government remains committed to continue to work towards ensuring that Shri Jadhav receives justice at the earliest and returns safely to India," Kumar declared.

The International Court of Justice had earlier asked Pakistan to put off the execution till it reaches its final verdict in the case.

Even as Jadhav, 48, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court in April 2017,  following the Indian government's move to the international court, the 10-member bench of the ICJ on May 18, 2017 had given a stay order and 'restrained' Pakistan from executing Jadhav till adjudication of the case.

In its written pleadings, India had accused Pakistan of violating the Vienna Convention by not giving consular access to Jadhav, arguing that the convention did not say that such access would not be available to an individual arrested on espionage charges.

India had said the so-called trial of Jadhav by a military court in Pakistan was "farcical".

Later in December 2017, Kulbhushan Jadhav was allowed to meet his wife and mother but the MEA in Delhi had said it appeared Jadhav was “under considerable stress” and “speaking in an atmosphere of coercion”.

“The manner in which the meeting was conducted and its aftermath was clearly an attempt to bolster a false and unsubstantiated narrative of Jadhav’s alleged activities,” the ministry had said in a statement.

“The Pakistani side conducted the meeting in a manner that violated the letter and spirit of our understandings," it had said.  

Timelines in ICJ case:

  8 May 2017                           i.      India instituted proceedings in the International Court of Justice against Pakistan for egregious violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963;

                                                ii.         India asked ICJ to issue 'Provisional Measures';

                                                iii.        India asked Court to issue immediate instructions to Pakistan to not take any action on the sentence awarded to Jadhav till India's request for
Provisional Measures was considered.

9 May 2017                                Court sent an urgent communication to the PM of Pakistan, and called upon Pakistan, to act in such a way, pending Court's decision on India's Request for Provisional Measures (stay order) as will enable any Order the Court may make on this Request to have its appropriate effects.

15 May 2017                              ICJ heard India's request for Provisional Measures

18 May 2017                              ICJ unanimously issued a binding order indicating Provisional Measures asked by India to take all measures to prevent execution of Jadhav pending final judgment of the Court.

13 Sept 2017                             India filed its Memorial (first round of written pleadings)

13 Dec 2017                              Pakistan filed its Counter Memorial (first written pleadings)

19 Dec 2017                              India sought 3 months to file Reply (2nd pleadings)

5 Jan 2018                                  Pakistan opposed India's request

17 Jan 2018                               Court accepted India's request and gives time of 3 months each to India and Pakistan to file 2nd round of written pleadings

17 April 2018                              India filed its Reply in the Court (2nd round of written pleadings)

17 July 2018                              Pakistan filed its Rejoinder (2nd round of written pleadings)

18-21 Feb 2019                        Final Oral Hearings in the ICJ

17 July 2019                             Judgment by the ICJ goes in favour of India

2 September 2019                         Consular access provided to Jadhav