3rd request can be a possible deal-breaker.
India on Thursday conveyed that it will allow Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife and mother to travel to Pakistan to meet him. Jadhav is currently in death row holed up in Pakistan prison.
The former Navy officer has been accused by Pakistan of hatching a conspiracy against them and planning terrorist acts in its soil. However, India has maintained that Jadhav was illegally abducted by Pak authorities. India has moved to ICJ seeking that Jadhav be freed.
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar laid out a series of assurances it wants from Pakistan regarding the visit of Jadhav's family to the neighbouring country. On November 10, Pakistan had said it will allow Jadhav to meet his wife, months after India requested it to grant visa to his mother on humanitarian grounds.
Here are the assurances India has asked:
1.India has sought 'sovereign guarantee' from Pakistan to ensure safety and security of the wife and the mother of Indian death row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav if they are allowed to visit him.
2.The external affairs ministry said Pakistan has also been asked not to subject the two women to any questioning, harassment or interrogation during their stay in Pakistan.
3. The High Commission in Islamabad should be allowed to accompany the two women at all times, including during the meeting with Jadhav.
4. MEA spokesperson also said that allowing the visit does not absolve Pakistan of the violations of the Vienna Convention on consular access and not following the due process in treating Jadhav who faces death sentence through a 'farcical process and on concocted charges'.
It will be interesting to see how Pakistan reacts to these requests. It is hard to think that Pakistan will allow a staffer of Indian High Commission to accompany Jadhav's family when they meet him.
Jadhav 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.
Last month, the Pakistan Army had said it is close to a decision on the mercy petition of Jadhav. 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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