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Rediff.com  » News » Consular access to Jadhav to be decided on basis of merit, says Pakistan

Consular access to Jadhav to be decided on basis of merit, says Pakistan

By Sajjad Hussain
April 21, 2017 19:45 IST
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Pakistan has asserted that a decision on India's request for consular access to its national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a military court, would be taken on "the basis of merit".

Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said Pakistan and India have a bilateral agreement on consular access but all cases have to be decided on merit.

"In all such cases...the request of this nature would be decided on the basis of merit," he said at a media briefing on Thursday.

Zakaria said India had summoned Pakistan's deputy high commissioner over consular access to Jadhav but this was not something new.

It was a reaction after the death sentence awarded to Jadhav, he said.

Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale after meeting Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua earlier this week had said that he had asked for consular access to Jadhav for the 14th time.

In response, Pakistan had said in a statement that India, in several cases, had denied consular access to Pakistani prisoners for years.

Separately, army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor had ruled out consular access to Jadhav.

"Under the law we cannot give consular access to Khubhushan who was involved in spying," Ghafoor had told reporters.

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Sajjad Hussain
Source: PTI© Copyright 2024 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.
 
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