Pakistan says granting consular access, India downplays claim
A former Indian Navy officer who was sentenced to death on charges of espionage, Kulbhushan Jadhav’s family is flying to Islamabad via the UAE and strict security measures have been put in place around the meeting venue at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officials said.
Police and paramilitary security forces including sharpshooters have been deployed at the MOFA to deal with any untoward security situation.
Pakistan says that Jadhav is an Indian navy officer who has confessed to spying. India maintains that he was kidnapped.
Pakistan claimed that it has granted India consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khwaja M Asif told Geo News that an Indian official will be allowed to be present during the meeting between Jadhav and his family members. Indian Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh will be accompanying Jadhav’s wife and mother for today’s meeting.
Duration of the meeting between Kulbhushan Jadhav and his family members has not been confirmed yet but it may last an hour, says sources in the Pakistan Foreign Office.
Pakistani authorities said they have deployed sharpshooters at the foreign ministry’s office where Kulbhushan Jadhav will meet his wife and mother, News18 reported. Jadhav would be meeting his family at the foreign office in Islamabad.
The exact time of the meeting is not immediately known but officials said it would be around midday or early afternoon.
