Jadhav under pressure to parrot a 'false narrative' to bolster Pakistan’s untenable claims: MEA 

Hours after Indian chargé d'affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia met the jailed Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav in a Pakistan prison, Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said that the government will decide further course of action after receiving a detailed report and determining the extent of conformity to the ICJ directives.

Jadhav appeared to be under ''extreme pressure'' to parrot a false narrative to bolster Pakistan’s untenable claims, according to the statement from MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. 

''While we await a comprehensive report, it was clear that Shri Jadhav appeared to be under extreme pressure to parrot a false narrative to bolster Pakistan’s untenable claims. We will decide a further course of action after receiving a detailed report from our Cd’A and determining the extent of conformity to the ICJ directives,'' the statement added.

The Charge d’ Affaires, High Commission of India in Islamabad, met Jadhav today. 

The meeting was held in the light of the unanimous judgement of the International Court of Justice delivered on July 17, 2019 which found Pakistan in egregious violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963 on many counts and ordered Pakistan to provide Indian consular officers access to Shri Jadhav.

Today’s consular access is a part of the binding obligations of Pakistan, as ordered by the ICJ, to ensure effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence awarded to Shri Jadhav through a farcical process, the statement added.

According to the statement, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to Jadhav's mother and briefed her of today’s developments.

''The Government remains committed to continuing to work towards ensuring that Jadhav receives justice at the earliest and returns safely to India," the statement further said.