Pakistan's Consular Access to Jadhav an Eyewash, Attempt to Impress ICJ, Says His Friend

Pakistans move of providing consular access to former Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav on Thursday was just a show-off by the neighbouring country, his close friend said here.

Tulsidas Pawar, a childhood friend of Jadhav, said Pakistan was doing all this just to impress the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which was approached by India last year.

Jadhav, the 50-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on

charges of "espionage and terrorism" in April 2017. India approached the ICJ against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and challenging the death sentence.

The Hague-based ICJ ruled in July last year that Pakistan must undertake an "effective review and reconsideration" of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav and also to grant consular access to India without further delay.

Miffed with Pakistan's behaviour, Pawar said Islamabad, by providing consular access to Jadhav, wants to show that it has done something in the matter.

It was just a show-off by the neighbouring country, he said.

Pakistan did not obey ICJs orders passed a year ago, he said, adding Government of India should again raise this matter before the ICJ.

They did not give proper treatment to Jadhav's mother and wife when they visited him in jail, Pawar said.

Pakistan officials were present during the meeting and they even recorded their conversation, he said.

Pakistan is also torturing Jadhav, Pawar alleged.

Recently, Pakistan claimed that Jadhav had refused to file a review petition against his sentence. This indicated the Indian prisoner is being tortured by Pakistan, he said.

"India should not entertain falsehood of Pakistan and take stern action to ensure safe release of our friend," Pawar said.

Kulbhushan Jadhav is the son of Sudhir Jadhav, a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police in Mumbai, and spent his childhood in the Parel area of the metropolis.

On Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Office claimed that two consular officers of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad were provided "unimpeded and uninterrupted" consular access to Jadhav.

Tough Pakistan Foreign ministry had assured India that the consular access would be unimpeded, unhindered and unconditional, it turned out that the arrangements of the meeting were not in accordance with the assurances made by Islamabad, the MEA spokesperson said in New Delhi.

Pakistan claims that its security forces arrested Jadhav from the restive Balochistan province on March 3, 2016 after he reportedly entered from Iran.

India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy.