Islamabad: The mother and the wife of former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav have reached the Pakistani capital, in order to meet him later in the day.
They arrived in an unnamed commercial flight and are scheduled to leave later in the evening.
The meeting will last between 15 minutes to an hour, and the two women will be allowed to speak to media if they wish to, the Dawn said, citing diplomatic sources.
Pakistan had agreed earlier to facilitate the visit of Jadhav’s kin and also assured their safety, security, and freedom of movement in the nation.
Subsequently, on December 20, Pakistan issued visas to Jadhav’s mother and wife to meet him on humanitarian grounds.
Pakistan has repeatedly rejected India’s plea for consular access to Jadhav at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging he was not an ordinary person and had entered the country with an intent of spying and carrying out sabotage activities.
On December 13, Pakistan submitted its reply to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case dismissing India’s stance on Jadhav.
The reply, which was submitted by the Foreign Office’s Director (India), Fariha Bugti, also claimed that Jadhav’s case does not fall under the purview of the Vienna Convention.
Pakistan’s reply came after India had submitted its written response to registrar Philippe Couvreur of the ICJ in the same case in September this year.
Jadhav was arrested in March this year, in Balochistan, Pakistan, over charges of alleged involvement in espionage and subversive activities for India’s intelligence agency – the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
India, however, maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.
On April 10, 2017, Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Field General Court Martial (FGCM) in Pakistan.
On May 18, 2017, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) stayed the hanging, after India approached it against the death sentence. (ANI)