Full timeline of Kulbhushan Jadhav case: Indian deputy envoy meets former navy officer after Pakistan allows consular access

India on Monday accepted the offer of consular access  extended by Pakistan to death-row convict Kulbhushan Jadhav. Indian deputy high commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia met him the same day, reports said as tensions over the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir simmer between the neighbours. “We hope Pakistan will ensure right atmosphere so that the meeting is free, fair, meaningful and effective in keeping with the letter and spirit of the ICJ orders,” government officials were quoted by PTI as saying. The venue of the meeting is not immediately known. “India has been seeking consular access to Kulbushan Jadhav for the last three years. The matter of denial of consular access was taken to ICJ by India. The court gave a unanimous decision in favour of India. Today, after victory in the ICJ, India will be proceeding for consular access to Jadhav,” they said. [caption id=“attachment_4274365” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Kulbhushan Jadhav. News18[/caption] Full timeline of Kulbhushan Jadhav case 2016 3 March: Pakistan arrests Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer. 24 March: Pakistani authorities claim that Jadhav, “an Indian spy”, was arrested from the Balochistan province in Pakistan. 26 March: India refutes Pakistan’s claim that Jadhav, who owned a cargo business in Iran, was arrested in Balochistan and holds that there wasn’t proof for Islamabad’s claim of the arrest. 29 March: New Delhi seeks consular access to Jadhav and over the next year, India makes 16 such requests but Pakistan denies. 2017 10 April: A Pakistani military court sentences Jadhav to death “for his involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan”. India warns Islamabad that it was a case of “premeditated murder”. 11 April: Former external affairs minister (EAM) and late BJP leader Sushma Swaraj makes a statement in both Houses of Parliament, that India would go “out of its way” to ensure justice to Jadhav. 14 April: India demands from Pakistan a certified copy of the charge sheet as well as the Pakistani court judgment in the death sentence of Jadhav and seeks consular access to him. 20 April: India officially seeks from Pakistan details of the trial proceedings against Jadhav as well as the appeal process in the case. 27 April: Swaraj writes to the then-Pakistan foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz requesting a visa for Jadhav’s family to visit him. 8 May: India approaches the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague against the Pakistan military court’s decision in Jadhav’s case. 9 May: The ICJ stays Jadhav’s execution. 15 May: India and Pakistan cross swords at the ICJ over Jadhav’s case with New Delhi demanding the immediate suspension of his death sentence and Islamabad accusing it of using the world body as a stage for “political theatre” through a “misconceived” plea. 18 May: The ICJ tells Pakistan to put his execution on hold pending its final order. 26 December: Jadhav meets his wife and mother, more than a year after he was arrested by the Pakistan Army and accused of spying. 2018 17 April: India files the second round of written reply in the ICJ in Jadhav’s case. 17 July: Pakistan submits its second counter-memorial in the ICJ on the conviction of Jadhav. 22 August: The ICJ sets February 2019 for hearing Jadhav’s case. 21 November: Swaraj seeks diplomatic access to Jadhav. 2019 18 February: Four-day hearing in Jadhav’s case opens. 19 February: India urges the ICJ to annul Jadhav’s death sentence by a Pakistani military court and order his immediate release. 20 February: India questions the functioning of Pakistan’s notorious military courts and urges the ICJ to annul Jadhav’s death sentence. 21 February: Pakistan asks the ICJ to “dismiss or declare inadmissible” India’s claim for relief to Jadhav. 4 July: The ICJ announces that it will deliver verdict in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case on 17 July. 17 July: In a major victory for India, the ICJ rules that Pakistan must review the death sentence for Kulbhushan Jadhav and provide him consular access. 18 July: India and Pakistan both, claim the ICJ’s verdict in Jadhav’s case as an individual “victory” and a “vindication” of their stand in the case. Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the external affairs ministry holds that the ICJ verdict is “final and binding”. Meanwhile, Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan said that the government will “proceed as per law” in granting consular access to Jadhav. 19 July: Pakistan offers consular access to Jadhav and says that modalities of the process were being “worked out” as per the ICJ judgment. 26 July: Swaraj, former external affairs minister socially meets Jadhav’s family. She tweets regarding the meeting and also shares a picture with them. 1 August: Pakistan foreign office says Jadhav will be granted consular access on 2 August, but India does not accept the offer due to certain conditions put by Islamabad for the meeting. One of the conditions was the presence of a Pakistani official when Jadhav is allowed to meet Indian officials as part of the consular access. India did not agree to the condition, saying the access must be “unimpeded” and in the spirit of the ICJ judgment. 9 August: India says in touch with Pakistan over consular access to Jadhav after Islamabad downgrades diplomatic ties with India in protest of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir on 4 August. 29 August: India says it has sought “immediate, effective and unhindered” consular access to Jadhav and is in touch with Pakistan through diplomatic channels. “We are in touch with the Pakistani side through diplomatic channels. You are aware that based on the judgement of the International Court of Justice we have asked for immediate, effective and unhindered access. Let us see the kind of response we receive from the Pakistani side,” Kumar said in response to a query. 1 September: Pakistan on Sunday offers India consular access to Jadhav again. 2 September: Indian deputy high commissioner to Pakistan Gaurav Ahluwalia meets Jadhav after India accepts Pakistan’s offer for consular access. With inputs from agencies