Courtesy Foreign Office of Pakistan
Foreign Office spokesperson reiterates Islamabad’s demand for India to allow independent observers access to India-held Kashmir
Pakistan has offered consular access to convicted Indian spy Kulbushan Jadhav for a third time to fulfill its international obligations in accordance with the rulings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in this case, Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said on Thursday.
Addressing a weekly press briefing, she said that the ICJ, in its judgment, had directed Pakistan to review and reconsider the conviction and sentence of Kulbushan Jadhav. In light of this, she said, necessary steps had been taken for the provision of unhindered and uninterrupted consular access to Jadhav by India. However, she added, India was using various pretexts to hinder the review and reconsideration process.
She hoped that rather than using such delaying tactics, India would cooperate with Pakistani courts to ensure the successful implementation of the ICJ judgment.
During her briefing, Farooqui also reiterated Pakistan’s longstanding demand for India to allow independent human rights observers and international media access to India-held Jammu and Kashmir, including the Line of Control dividing the region between Islamabad and Delhi. She said this was necessary for the global community to get a first-hand view of the region’s ground realities.
The spokesperson said Pakistan had consistently called upon India to allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan entry into India-held Kashmir so it could fully discharge the mandate given to it by the U.N. Security Council. Pakistan, she added, has always provided unfettered access not only to UNMOGIP, but also to international media and independent observers.
She noted that just a day earlier, representatives from various international media outlets had visited the Line of Control in Chirikot sector and witnessed for themselves the destruction and injuries caused to the civilian population living along the de facto boundary.
Farooqui said the visitors had been shown India’s multi-layered surveillance and defense system along the LoC, which completely negated Delhi’s hollow allegations and propaganda by the Indian media against Pakistan on cross-border infiltration and so-called militant launch pads in the region.