Jadhav Case: Indian Envoy, Pak Foreign Secy's Meeting Postponed

The meeting between Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale and Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua to discuss the issue of Kulbhushan Jadhav was postponed by a day, The Hindu reported.

Sources in the Foreign Office in Islamabad said that the issue of Jadhav is expected to be the focus of the meeting as India has been seeking consular access to its convicted citizen. Pakistan has denied India's request for consular access to Jadhav over a dozen times in the last one year.

Pakistan army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor has already rejected any possibility of granting consular access to Jadhav, who was handed out the death penalty for alleged espionage and subversive activities.

It will be Bambawale's second meeting with the foreign secretary in less than a week, showing India's increasing concern about Jadhav's fate.

He told the media after his previous meeting on 14 April that he had asked for a list of charges and an authentic copy of the verdict of the military court against Jadhav to launch an appeal against his conviction.

He also said that India was seeking consular access



on the basis of international law.

The Foreign Office in a statement issued after the meeting said that the foreign secretary told Bambawale that during the Jadhav's trial, due judicial process was followed and he was provided a lawyer in accordance with relevant laws and the Constitution of Pakistan.

Jadhav, 46, was awarded the death sentence by the Field General Court Martial last week, evoking a sharp reaction in India, which warned Pakistan of consequences and damage to bilateral ties if the "pre-meditated murder" was carried out.

Pakistan claims its security forces had arrested Jadhav from the restive Balochistan province on 3 March last year after he reportedly entered from Iran. It also claimed that he was "a serving officer in the Indian Navy." The Pakistan Army had also released a "confessional video" of Jadhav after his arrest.

However, India denied Pakistan's contention and maintained that Jadhav was kidnapped by Pakistan authorities from Iran.

India had acknowledged that Jadhav had served with the navy but denied that he has any connection with the government any more.