Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi has issued visas to convicted Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother and wife, the Foreign Office said on Wednesday.

“Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi issued visas to the mother and wife of Commander Jadhav to visit Islamabad to meet him,” Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Faisal tweeted. The visas were issued after Pakistan decided to allow Jadhav’s mother to visit him, in addition to his wife. The two women will travel to Pakistan to meet the Indian spy on December 25 and will be accompanied by an Indian diplomat. Pakistan had initially offered a meeting between Jadhav and his wife on ‘humanitarian grounds’. However, India made the acceptance of the offer conditional to permission for his mother and an Indian diplomat to accompany her. After extensive deliberations, the Indian request was allowed and last week Dec 25 was proposed as the meeting date. Jadhav, who was captured by Pakistani security forces on March 3, 2016, in Balochistan, was sentenced to death by a military tribunal earlier this year for his involvement in terrorism and espionage. His appeals against the conviction have been rejected by the military appellate court and his mercy petition has been lying with Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.

India has challenged Pakistan’s refusal to grant consular access to the spy in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICJ is hearing the case and has restrained the Pakistan government from executing Jadhav till it decides the case.

Published in Daily Times, December 21^st 2017.