Pakistan provides diplomatic access to two Indians arrested on charges of espionage

Islamabad: Pakistan has reportedly provided consular access to two Indian nationals arrested from Gilgit-Baltistan in 2020 on charges of espionage.

Sources said that a meeting was held between Indian diplomats and the arrested Indian nationals on Monday. Although the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan has not issued any statement in the matter, sources have confirmed this meeting. Sources said that both the Indian nationals Firoz Ahmed Lone and Noor Muhammad Wani are residents of Gurez area of ​​​​Kashmir. They were recently transferred from Gilgit-Baltistan jail to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

According to sources, in this meeting, a three-member team of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad met both the Indians in Adiala Jail. During this, officials of the Pakistani Home Ministry were also present. On the other hand, according to Indian media reports, both the Indian citizens accidentally crossed the border in November 2018.

The issue of diplomatic access has long been a matter of controversy in India-Pakistan relations. Kulbhushan Jadhav, arrested by Pakistan in 2016 on charges of espionage and terrorist activities, was not provided diplomatic access despite repeated requests from India. He was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court.

India later raised the issue in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICJ ordered diplomatic access to Jadhav and stayed his death sentence. It also ordered Jadhav to be tried in a civilian court. After this, Pakistan’s Foreign Office allowed Indian officials to meet Jadhav amid tight security.