Pakistan is unlikely to grant visas to the family of Kulbhushan Jadhav, a retired v who has been given a death sentence by their military court on charges of espionage, even as India has sought help from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on this matter.

Pakistan believes that granting access to Jadhav’s family will tantamount to granting consular access to him as his whereabouts will be known.

According to Pakistani authorities, Jadhav is being treated as a “terrorist” having committed “acts of terror of the highest measure” and hence there is “no way” Pakistan will allow his family to meet him, a senior Pakistani official told BusinessLine requesting anonymity.

However, the official said Jadhav can exercise three options — he can appeal in a general court, after which he can file another appeal in Pakistan’s Supreme Court, and finally, he may request for a mercy petition.

The official also said that these are options that Jadhav can exercise, but not his family. Therefore, the petition filed on his behalf by his family may also not be honoured by the Pakistan authorities.

Meanwhile, the matter has now moved to the Hague-based ICJ, which is the primary judicial arm of the United Nations (UN). In an order, issued late Tuesday night, ICJ said it had ordered Pakistan to not carry out Jadhav’s execution in haste.

Pakistan, while refusing to follow ICJ’s order, has called India’s move to be a “pre-emptive stance”.

India moved the ICJ on May 8, blaming Islamabad of “egregious violations of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations” in the matter of the detention and trial of Jadhav. It also sought from Pakistan, through ICJ, four relief measures — immediate suspension of the death sentence, restitution in interregnum by declaring that the sentence of the military court was arrived at in brazen defiance of the Vienna Convention rights, restraining Pakistan to implement the death sentence given by a military court and, finally, ICJ should step in and call the judgement illegal if Pakistan is unable to annul the decision.

The ICJ is expected to again meet on this matter in the next few days as the legal procedure unfolds. India is being represented by senior advocate Harish Salve at the ICJ.

Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay said India had no other option but to approach the ICJ.

“We have made 16 requests for consular access, which were denied. Despite requesting the government of Pakistan, both verbally and in writing, at very senior levels through diplomatic channels, we got no response on getting the documents of the case, such as chargesheet, court proceedings etc.

“We do not know the status of the appeal or petition filed by the mother or the visas applied by the family so they can go to Pakistan personally to meet their son. So in this situation... what we have done is approach the ICJ,” Baglay said.

In a parallel development, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj has spoken to Jadhav’s mother and informed her of the ICJ development.

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