Pakistan has not communicated about a lawyer for Kulbhushan Jadhav, says India

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that Pakistan has not reached out to India regarding the Islamabad High Court’s order for the appointment of a lawyer for former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is on death row in the country on charges of espionage.

“We haven’t received any communication from the Pakistan government in this regard,” foreign ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said during a press briefing. “Pakistan needs to address basic issues which pertain to effective review, fulfillment and implementation of ICJ [International Court of Justice] judgement. These issues are making relevant documentation available to India and providing unimpeded, unhindered and unconditional consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav.”

The Islamabad High Court had on Monday directed the Pakistan government to allow Indian authorities to appoint a legal representative for Jadhav. The court had, however, said that the lawyer should be a Pakistani national.