New Delhi: India is likely to respond on Friday to Islamabad’s offer of arranging a meeting between Kulbhushan Jadhav, the former Indian Navy officer on death row in Pakistan, and his wife on humanitarian grounds.
Pakistan last week said it will allow 46-year-old Jadhav to meet his wife, months after India had requested Islamabad to grant a visa to his mother.
"The Government of Pakistan has decided to arrange a meeting of Commander Kulbhushan Jhadav with his wife, in Pakistan, purely on humanitarian grounds," Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal had said in a statement on November 10. "A Note Verbale to this effect has been sent to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad," he had said, adding that the meeting would take place on Pakistani soil.
During his weekly media briefing on Thursday, Mohammad Faisal said Pakistan was awaiting India's response on the offer.
Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court in April on charges of espionage and terrorism. The International Court of Justice in May halted his execution on India's appeal. Pakistan has repeatedly denied India consular access to Jadhav on the ground that it was not applicable in cases related to spies.
It is not clear what prompted Islamabad to allow Jadhav’s wife to meet him in Pakistan. There was speculation that the two countries discussed the issue in a recent meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and the newly-appointed Pakistani High Commissioner to New Delhi Sohail Mahmood. Some media reports have linked Pakistan's offer to the quiet efforts by the US.
Pakistan, however, insisted that the offer was made purely on the humanitarian grounds.
The offer comes as India awaits the re-election of Dalveer Bhandari at the International Court of Justice. If Bhandari loses his re-election bid against Britain’s Christopher Greenwood for the last seat at ICJ, India will have no representation at the UN court.
Jadhav has filed an appeal with Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa to seek clemency, which is still pending. Last month, the Pakistan Army had said it is close to a decision on the mercy petition of Jadhav.
Pakistan claims its security forces arrested him from restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy.
Jadhav's sentencing had evoked a sharp reaction in India. After India approached the ICJ, a 10-member bench on May 18 restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav till adjudication of the case.
The ICJ has asked Pakistan to submit its response or memorial by December 13 before the court could start further proceedings in the case.
(With agency inputs)
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