Pakistan
has not fulfilled its obligations in implementing the International Court of Justice’s
(ICJ) judgement for Indian death-row prisoner Kubhushan Jadhav, including the
provision of consular access, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

 “Pakistan hasn’t been able to
fulfil its obligations to implement ICJ judgement in Kulbhushan Jhadav case, in
its letter and spirit. Basic issues they need to address include provision of
relevant documents and providing unimpeded consular access to Kulbhushan,” news agency ANI quoted MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava, as saying.

Also Read: Pakistan conveys judicial orders to India for appointing lawyer for Kulbhushan Jadhav: Official

In July,
2019, the ICJ ruled that Pakistan must undertake an “effective review and
reconsideration” of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav and also to
grant consular access to India without further delay.

This came
after India approached The Hague-based ICJ against Pakistan for denial of consular
access while also challenging the death sentence.

On July 16,
2020, Pakistan provided consular access to Jadhav. However, the Indian
government said the access was “neither meaningful nor credible” and
he appeared visibly under stress.

The MEA
said Pakistan is not only in violation of the judgment of ICJ, but also of its
own ordinance.

Pakistan has since introduced a special law to allow Jadhav to
get his sentence reviewed, as directed by the ICJ.

The Islamabad High Court, on September 3, asked the Pakistan government to give India “another opportunity” to appoint a lawyer for Jadhav.  

On
September 15, Pakistan’s Parliament extended by four months an ordinance that
allows Jadhav to file an appeal against his conviction in a high court, as directed
by the ICJ.

Also Read: Taking all steps to ensure safety of Kulbhushan Jadhav: MEA

The ordinance was promulgated by the ICJ in May and was set to
expire today, but the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, extended
it by four months.

 Indian Navy officer Jadhav, 50, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of “espionage and terrorism” in April 2017.

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