Former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is serving death sentence in Pakistan on charges of espionage and terrorism, will be allowed to meet his mother and wife accompanied by an Indian diplomat on December 25.

“The government of Pakistan has conveyed that they will give visa to the mother and wife of Kulbhushan Jadhav. I have spoken to Avantika Jadhav, mother of Kulbhushan Jadhav, and informed her about this. We had also asked that a diplomatic officer of Indian High Commission should accompany them while they are in Pakistan. Pakistan has agreed to facilitate the visit of mother and wife of Kulbhushan Jadhav and assured us of their safety, security and freedom of movement in Pakistan,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in a series of tweets on Friday.

Last month Pakistan had agreed to grant visa only to Jadhav’s wife but not his mother. Thereafter, upon India’s insistence the Pakistani government granted a visa also to his mother that has been lying with them since April.

“It is good news … In consultation with the mother and the wife of Jadhav, we will work out the further modalities of the meeting,” said Raveesh Kumar, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Kumar also said it is “too early” to ascertain the nature of the meeting, which is likely to take place on December 25. The dates are not yet finalised.

“Pakistan has informed India that it is ready to allow the visit of the mother of Commander Jadhav, along with his wife. The visit should happen on December 25, 2017. A diplomat from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad will be allowed to accompany the visitors. Requisite security would be provided to the visitors,” Mohammad Faisal, Spokesperson, Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said during a press conference in Islamabad on Friday.

This decision by the Pakistani government comes close on the heels of them presenting memorials, or written arguments, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on December 13.

As a result, this will not only strengthen their case, the very fact that they are allowing an Indian diplomat to accompany Jadhav’s mother and wife “technically tantamount” to them giving consular access, a diplomatic source told BusinessLine .

“This is more of a humanitarian gesture than consular access. Even if they term it as consular access it does not impact the case much. Because the case we are fighting at the ICJ is not granting consular access at the time of verdict or when he was convicted,” said former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan TCA Raghavan.

Jadhav, 47, was arrested in March last year by Pakistani authorities for allegedly carrying out terrorist activities across Pakistan. The Pakistani government believes he is an agent of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and has given him death sentences.

Arun Sehgal, Senior Fellow at Delhi Policy Group, and an expert on India-Pakistan relations, said this move by Pakistan will not only strengthen their case but they might also brandish it as consular access.

“This is definitely a well-orchestrated event management by Pakistan to fortify their case,” he said.

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