Senior Indian diplomat meets Kulbhushan Jadhav after Pak grants consular access: Media report
Islamabad: A senior Indian diplomat on Monday met Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is on death row in Pakistan, after Islamabad granted consular access to the Indian prisoner "in line with the ICJ judgement".
The meeting between a senior Indian diplomat and the convicted Indian spy is currently underway after Pakistan formally granted the consular access to him in line with the decision of International Court of Justice, the Express Tribune reported.
However, it did not identify the Indian diplomat who met the retired Indian Navy officer. The venue of the meeting is not immediately known. In New Delhi, official sources said Charge d' Affaires at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad Gaurav Ahluwalia will meet Jadhav.
The meeting came a month after a similar interaction between Indian officials and Jadhav did not materialise amid differences between New Delhi and Islamabad on the terms of the consular access to the retired Indian navy officer.
Jadhav, 49, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of "espionage and terrorism" in April 2017, following which India had moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ), seeking a stay on his death sentence and further remedies.
On Sunday, Foreign Office Spokesman Mohammad Faisal tweeted that consular access for Kulbhushan Jadhav will be provided on September 2 "in line with Vienna Convention on Consular relations, ICJ judgement & the laws of Pakistan".
The consular access to Jadhav came amidst fresh Indo-Pak tensions, which spiked after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two union territories.
India had demanded "immediate, effective and unhindered" consular access to Jadhav from Pakistan and was in touch with Islamabad through diplomatic channels.
However, it is not yet clear if the consular access provided on Monday was unhindered as demanded by India.
On August 1, Pakistan Foreign Office said the retired Indian Navy officer will be granted consular access the next day. However, the meeting, which was scheduled for 3 pm on August 2, did not materialise amid differences between India and Pakistan on the terms of the consular access to Jadhav.
On July 17, the ICJ ordered Pakistan to undertake an "effective review and reconsideration" of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav and also to grant consular access to India without further delay.
One of the conditions put by Pakistan reportedly 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, making clear its position that the consular access must be "unimpeded" and should be in the light of the judgement by the ICJ.
Pakistan claims that its security forces arrested Jadhav from the restive Balochistan province on March 3, 2016 after he reportedly entered from Iran.
However, India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy.
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IndiGo Crisis: DGCA suspends 4 Flight Operations Inspectors
Mumbai (PTI): Aviation safety regulator DGCA has suspended four Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) over massive disruptions in IndiGo’s operations, which resulted in the cancellation of thousands of flights and lakhs of people getting stranded across airports.
The airline cancelled over 50 flights from Bengaluru Airport on Friday.
FOIs are senior officials within the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, working as part of its regulatory and safety oversight functions, often deployed to monitor airline operations.
"Four Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) at the DGCA have been suspended in connection with the recent large-scale disruptions in IndiGo’s flights," a source said.
These officials ensure aviation safety by inspecting, auditing, and certifying airlines and personnel, such as pilots, dispatchers,and cabin crew, to meet strict regulatory standards, verifying various regulations and overseeing training, flight standards, and accident prevention measures in India.
"IndiGo has cancelled 54 flights -- 31 arrivals and 23 departures -- from Bengaluru Airport on Friday," a source said.
The crisis-hit airline had cancelled over 200 flights from Delhi and Bengaluru on Thursday.
Meanwhile, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidre Porqueras will appear again before the DGCA's investigation panel at 2 PM on Friday.
The DGCA on Thursday stepped up scrutiny of the crisis-hit IndiGo, with officials stationing themselves at the carrier's headquarters to monitor operations, and an inquiry panel grilled CEO Pieter Elbers.
Elbers, who appeared before the DGCA-constituted inquiry panel on Thursday, has been asked to appear again on Friday.
The four-member panel comprises Joint Director General Sanjay Brahamane, Deputy Director General Amit Gupta, senior Flight Operations Inspector Kapil Manglik, and FOI Lokesh Rampal, with a mandate to identify the root causes of widespread operational disruptions at the leading domestic carrier.
The committee's mandate includes assessing manpower planning, fluctuating rostering systems, and the airline's preparedness to implement the latest duty period and rest norms for pilots, which came into effect from November 1 this year.
