Pakistan rules out 2nd consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav

India is trying through diplomatic channels to resolve the issues regarding the second round of consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav in Pakistan, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Thursday.

The statement came hours after Pakistan refused India access to Jadhav despite the International Court of Justice ruling to that effect. "There would be no second consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav," Mohammad Faisal, spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan, said.

Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer, has been sentenced to death by a military court in Pakistan.


Pakistan had on September 2 granted the first consular access to Jadhav in line with the "Vienna Convention and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict" after much negotiation between both countries over the terms and conditions. The neighbouring country has now denied a second access.

Reacting on the development, Kumar said, "We will keep trying to see that judgement of ICJ is fully implemented. We would like to remain in touch with the Pakistani side through diplomatic channels."

Pakistan claims that its security forces arrested Jadhav from the restive Balochistan province on March 3, 2016 after he reportedly entered from Iran. India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy.

Talking about UNHRC Kumar said that Indian delegation "responded to Pakistan's lies and distorted statement".

"The global community is aware of Pakistan's role in aiding terrorist infrastructure in their country," Raveesh Kumar said.

"Quite audacious on part of Pakistan, which is the epicentre of terrorism to pretend to speak on behalf of the global community on human rights. This is very rich. They need to understand repeating a lie doesn't turn it into gospel truth, which came out during the session," the MEA spokesperson added.

Kumar also said that Pakistan has shown inflexibility during the third round of discussions on Kartarpur Sahib corridor.