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Pakistan’s Inhumane act: Kulbhushan’s family allowed to meet him on ‘Humanitarian Grounds’ only for 30 minutes, through a glass pane

Kulbhushan Jadhav, the Indian sentenced to death in Pakistan, met his wife and mother for around 45 minutes across a glass screen, more than a year after he was arrested by the Pakistani army and accused of spying. Pakistan’s foreign office tweeted photos of the meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and commented: “We honour our commitments”.

Going by the tweeted photos, Kulbhushan Jadhav could speak to his family only through intercom, with five officials present, and no physical contact allowed.

Pakistan’s foreign office portrayed the brief meeting – coming after months of waiting for the family’s visa application – as a grand gesture on the birthday of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. In a few weeks, the top UN court, the International Court of Justice, is to hear India’s appeal against Mr. Jadhav’s death sentence on grounds that he never got an opportunity to defend himself. India has also accused Pakistan of denying Mr. Jadhav consular access in violation of the rules under the Vienna Convention.

Former India Naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav was sentenced to death in a Field General Court Martial on April 10, 2017 after three-and-a-half months of trial. He has been accused of espionage and working for the India’s external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).

He was arrested from Balochistan on March 3 last year.

The issue has snowballed into a flashpoint for India-Pakistan relations.

India has been repeatedly requesting consular access to Mr. Jadhav while also demanding a certified copy of the charge sheet as well as the judgment. Pakistan has so far denied India’s request 13 times, Mr. Gautam Bambawale, Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad told reporters in the Pakistan capital.

In the wake of this, India has cancelled maritime talks with Pakistan that was scheduled for April 17. It is likely that more steps could follow based on Pakistan’s response to India’s latest request for consular access for Mr. Jadhav, according to The Hindu’s Special Correspondent.

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