India has demanded from Pakistan a certificate on the health condition of retired Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, sentenced to death by a military court there, the external affairs ministry said on Thursday.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay also said the government is yet to receive a copy of any chargesheet against Jadhav, and did not even know who had defended him in the military court that sentenced him the death sentence.
Maintaining that the well being and state of Jadhav's health is a "matter of great concern" to India, Baglay said, "We haven't seen, we haven't met (Jadhav). He has been in Pakistan's custody for more than a year. So the well being and state of health of Jadhav is a matter of great concern.
"We have asked the Pakistani government earlier also, and yesterday our high commissioner (to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale) made a request for providing a report on his medical condition. So we await Pakistan's response."
On Wednesday, the Indian government had made a request for the 16th time to Pakistan for consular access to Jadhav, the spokesperson said.
"We wanted to get out on 0," he said when asked if India would be scoring a 100 in requests in seeking consular access.
Baglay also hoped that Pakistan would expedite the visa for Jadhav's mother and father who want to see their son as also file an appeal in person, if required. They have applied for the visa in the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi, he said.
Bambawale had also handed over to the Pakistan foreign secretary an appeal by Jadhav's mother as well as a petition by her seeking the Pakistan government's intervention for his release and expressing the desire to meet him.
The Indian envoy had also met the Pakistani foreign secretary on April 14 and expressed India's concern regarding the whereabouts and health condition of Jadhav. He had told media after his meeting that he had asked for a list of charges and an authenticated copy of the verdict of the military tribunal against the retired officer to launch an appeal process against his conviction.
Jadhav was given death sentence on the charge of "espionage" by the Field General Court Martial earlier this month, evoking a sharp reaction in India which warned Pakistan of consequences and damage to bilateral ties if the "pre-meditated murder" was carried out.
Baglay was asked about a "confessional" video released by the Pakistan army yesterday of former Taliban spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan in which he has said that the Taliban militants were in touch with the Afghan intelligence agency and India's Research and Analyst Wing which provided funds and set targets inside Pakistan for attacks.
To this, the MEA spokesperson replied, "We know the value of such coerced confessions. All that they reflect is a mindset on the part of those who put out such coerced confessions, which believes that others in the world also do what they do."
