‘Pakistan continues to deny unimpeded, unhindered consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav’: India

New Delhi, Nov 18: India on Thursday accused Pakistan of denying unimpeded and unhindered consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav as Islamabad's law to facilitate his right to appeal death sentence contains shortcomings.

MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India has seen reports of Pakistan enacting into law the earlier ordinance that was ostensibly enacted to bring into effect the judgement of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case.

"Nothing could have been further from the truth. As stated earlier, the ordinance did not create the machinery for an effective review and reconsideration of Jadhav's case as mandated by the judgement of the ICJ," he said.

"The Law simply codifies the shortcomings of the previous ordinance," he said.

"Pakistan continues to deny unimpeded and unhindered consular access to Jadhav and has failed to create an atmosphere in which a fair trial can be conducted. India has repeatedly called upon Pakistan to abide by the letter and spirit of the ICJ judgement," he added.

Pakistan's Parliament in its joint sitting on Wednesday enacted a law to give Indian death-row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav the right to file a review appeal against his conviction by a military court.

Jadhav, a 51-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017. India approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and challenging the death sentence.