The diplomatic crisis between Pakistan and Afghanistan deepened on Sunday after Kabul announced that it will withdraw its ambassador and other senior staff from Islamabad after the abduction and torture of the daughter of its envoy to Pakistan.
India on Thursday asked Pakistan to address the 'shortcomings' in a bill brought out to facilitate reviewing the case of Indian death row convict Kulbhushan Jadhav, saying the proposed law does not create a mechanism to reconsider it as mandated by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Jadhav, the 50-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017.
A special aircraft of the Indian Air Force was sent on Saturday to bring back the Indian diplomats, officials and other staff members including a group of Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel.
The United States has begun a new diplomatic mission in Afghanistan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as the US withdrew its last troops from the country ending the 20-year war in the South Asian nation.
Pakistan's National Assembly has passed a government-backed bill that will provide the right of appeal to Indian death-row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav, according to a media report.
Pakistan had first offered the consular access to Jadhav on August 2 but India had insisted that the consular access should be 'effective and unhindered'.
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The retired Indian Navy officer is on death row in Pakistan which has accused him of spying.
One of the conditions put by Pakistan reportedly was the presence of a Pakistani official when the Indian prisoner is allowed to meet Indian officials as part of the consular access.
India's communication to Pakistan on Thursday made clear its position that the consular access must be 'unimpeded'
In its 42-page ruling, the ICJ ruled that Pakistan had "breached" the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, which gives countries the right to consular access when their nationals are arrested abroad.
The Taliban will view India through the eyes of the ISI and can be relied upon to undertake hostile actions against this country, warns Virendra Kapoor.
'Pursuant to the decision of the ICJ, Commander Kulbushan Jadhav has been informed of his rights under Article 36, Paragraph 1(b) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations'
Considering that Qatar is a trusted ally of Washington for decades, it is expected to be a steady influence on the Taliban leadership, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The disengagement process from both the north and south banks of Pangong Lake was completed by the two nations and further disengagement is underway at other friction points.
'Their deteriorating economic and international situation is also responsible for being more reasonable.'
Noting the urgency and desire on the part of India to extradite people accused of corruption, the UK on Friday said a "legal process" is on in Vijay Mallya's matter and it has to be followed through as there cannot be any shortcut. In May last year, the fugitive businessman lost his appeals in the British Supreme Court against his extradition to India to face money laundering and fraud charges. Asked when can Mallya be extradited to India and if some kind of legal issue is still pending in the matter, new British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, without pointing to any particular case, said he recognises the urgency, importance and the desire to get back people who are accused of corruption to India.
Cairn Energy has threatened the Indian government that it is looking at executing the favourable $1.2 billion international tribunal award in the retrospective taxation case by seizing India's overseas assets.
The British high commission had sought consular access to Michel after he was arrested in the first week of December.
An agreement between India and Pakistan, however tenuous, has its own meaning and impact. We have not heard the last word about the ceasefire agreement, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said on Thursday that "there was no pressure on Pakistan at all regarding the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan."
It would be realistic to see India's position on the DGMOs joint statement more as 'engagement, different from dialogue', where our subsequent options could be decided depending on the realities of the situation on the ground, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
The ordinance was launched to implement the verdict of the ICJ which asked Pakistan to provide effective review of the sentence given to Jadhav my a military court. Jadhav, the 50-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of 'espionage and terrorism' in April 2017.
When asked if the Indian investigating agency would be allowed to visit Pakistan, Basit said that 'the whole investigation is not about reciprocity in view'.
The IHC, after hearing the arguments, ordered the government to send its order on Jadhav to India and adjourned the hearing until October 3 when the case would be heard again. Pakistan has introduced a special law to allow Jadhav to get his sentence reviewed as asked by the ICJ.
"The Indian side has been also making incongruous demands of allowing an Indian lawyer to represent Commander Jadhav. "We have repeatedly told them only those lawyers can represent Commander Jadhav in the court who have a licence to practise law in Pakistan. This is in accordance with legal practice in other jurisdictions also," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said.
India has been demanding "unimpeded" consular access to Jadhav as mandated by the International Court of Justice .
'Do not travel to India due to COVID-19. Exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism'
Pakistan claimed that Jadhav had refused to file a review plea on the Pakistani court military court's judgment which awarded the death penalty to the former naval officer on charges of espionage. India said that he had been coerced into doing that.
With Mitsubishi pulling the plug on it the days of the Pajero maybe over, but nobody who ever owned one will forget it. Some even learnt life-long lessons from it, says Pavan Lall.
Pakistan has shared lists of 54 civilian prisoners and 270 fishermen in its custody, who are Indians or believed-to-be Indians, the MEA said.
The judge said that the Indian government or Jadhav may reconsider their decision pertaining to the review petition. "India and Kulbhushan Jadhav should once again be extended an offer to appoint a legal representative" for the death row prisoner, he added.
The bench comprising Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah and his fellow judge Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb would take up the government plea on Monday, the Pakistani media, including the Geo News, reported.
'Pakistan has completely failed to provide the remedy as directed by the ICJ and India reserves its position in the matter, including its rights to avail of further remedies'
Troops of both the countries are locked in a tense standoff in the disputed areas of Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley along the LAC.
The US state department, which issued the revised travel advisory, on Wednesday said that the exemptions have been given under the national interest category.
Pakistan said that Jadhav is not an ordinary person as he had entered the country with the intent of spying and carrying out sabotage activities.
During the interrogation, they were repeatedly threatened that this is how the other members of the High Commission would be treated as well in future.
Foreign nationals who are single parents of minor children holding Indian passports or OCI cards, students who are foreign nationals where at least one of their parents is an Indian citizen or an OCI cardholder were allowed to visit India.
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