No idea of Jadhav’s condition or whereabouts, says MEA
India on Thursday said it was not aware of former naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav’s location or health condition in Pakistan even as it prepared to seek consular access to the Indian national sentenced to death on charges of spying.
“Pakistan has not shared with us till now any details of Kulbhushan Jadhav’s location or how he is,” foreign ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.
Pakistan has turned down 13 requests for consular access to Jadhav, who India maintains is an “innocent Indian, kidnapped by Pakistan:
“All our requests for consular access have been denied. The so-called legal process done by Pakistan was opaque”, he said, pointing out in one occasion it had said it would give consular access provided India investigate the charges against him.
“That itself is a proof that they didn’t have enough evidence. Such a request is also against the established norms of seeking consular access.”
The former navy official, arrested in March last year, was handed the death sentence by a Pakistan military court on charges of espionage and sabotage three days ago.
“The proceedings that have led to the sentence against Jadhav are farcical in the absence of any credible evidence against him. It is significant that our high commission was not even informed that Jadhav was being brought to trial,” read the demarche handed to Pakistani high commissioner Abdul Basit.
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