Consular access to Jadhav not automatic option: Pakistan

Pakistan has said that consular access to alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, who it dubbed a "serial killer", was "not an automatic option".

Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said on Thursday that in all such cases, the request would be decided on the basis of merit, The Nation reported on Friday.

He said India summoned Pakistan's Deputy High Commissioner on the issue of consular access to Jadhav "but this is not something new".

Zakaria pointed out that Jadhav had been given the death sentence after he confessed "he was involved in terror financing, subversive and terrorist activities in Pakistan besides being a spy and indulging in espionage".

He said Pakistan and India have a bilateral agreement on consular access but all cases were decided on merit.

Asked if the Prime Ministers of Pakistan and India would meet on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kazakhstan, the spokesperson said: "There is nothing on the table yet, as the SCO Summit is almost two months away. 

"Nevertheless, we have consistently maintained that meaningful, result-oriented dialogue, sustainable and constructive engagement to address all outstanding issues, particularly the Kashmir dispute, is the only way forward. Hostility and escalation benefits none."

India has said that if Jadhav was hanged, it would amount to pre-meditated murder. A Pakistani military court sentenced him to death.