India urges Pakistan to give consular access to Jadhav

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI, India (AA) - India on Thursday said that it is expecting full consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav in compliance with the Vienna Convention.

In a media briefing in the capital New Delhi on Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesman Raveesh Kumar said: “We expect that full consular access should be granted to Kulbhushan Jadhav at the earliest in full compliance with the ICJ's [International Court of Justice] judgment. We are in touch with Pakistani authorities in this regard."

Jadhav was arrested in Pakistan in 2016 on the charges of "espionage and terrorism". Jadhav was later tried by a military court that sentenced him to death in April 2017.

Earlier this month, the ICJ continued its stay on the death sentence awarded to Jadhav by a Pakistani military court and directed Pakistan to grant consular access to him "without further delay" in accordance with the Vienna Convention.

India also called on Pakistan to take “credible and irreversible action” against militant groups.

Noting that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan during his recent visit to the U.S. admitted that there were 30,000-40,000 "armed people" who fought in Afghanistan or Kashmir were still in his country, Kumar said it is time to take action.