Over the last one year, India sent 13 note verbales to Pakistan in order to get access to the Indian national, Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was in Pakistan's custody on "espionage" charges. All 13 requests were denied.
Now with the sudden pronouncement of a death sentence to Jadhav by a military court in Pakistan, India is moving the 14th request to gain access to him. Sources say instructions have been sent out to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad for the same.
On Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Gopal Baglay, said that since India was never allowed an access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, they were not aware of his condition or where he was. He said Pakistan has so far, even after the death sentence being awarded, shared no specific details about his well-being or whereabouts.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's statement in Parliament on Khulbushan Jadhav had a reference to conditional consular access offer made by Pakistan. To this, the MEA spokesperson said that when conditions are placed, then it is as good as denying the access.
India is exploring legal options and technicalities of moving an appeal against the death penalty. A consular access, as provided under the Geneva Convention, becomes even more imperative to ascertain details of the case from Jadhav himself in order to draft an appeal and fight the case well. India says that the very fact that consular access has repeatedly been denied shows that the charges against him are baseless.
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