Jaishankar, Rajnath Singh Talk Chabahar Port and Other Bilateral Issues With Iranian Counterparts

All issues of bilateral and regional significance including connectivity were discussed during the meetings External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had with their respective counterparts in Tehran recently, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

On his way to Russia, Jaishankar on Tuesday made a stopover in Tehran and held talks with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif, covering various aspects of bilateral relations and regional developments. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh too had made a stopover in Tehran on Saturday on his return journey from Russia, and held talks with his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Amir Hatami.

Asked about the two back to back ministerial meetings, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said during these meetings, all issues of bilateral and regional significance including connectivity were discussed.

“Particularly on the Chabahar (port) project, both sides noted that the traffic by Chabahar is increasing and we are seeing increased cargo movement through this port,” he said. To a separate question on fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi’s ongoing extradition hearing related to the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case at a UK court, Srivastava said the hearing started on September 7 and will continue till September 11.

“Prosecution has presented its case against Nirav Modi. There are various elements in this case like criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence and criminal intimidation,” he said. Asked about Vijay Mallya, Srivastava said his application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected in May this year and thereafter “we have been in touch with the UK side to ensure his early extradition to India”.

On the Kulbhushan Jadhav case in Pakistan, he said, “We continue to be in touch with the government of Pakistan through diplomatic channels and as I have said earlier we have raised with Pakistan that certain basic issues need to be addressed by them including, providing unconditional and unimpeded consular access to him, provision of basic documents and appointment of an Indian lawyer to ensure a trial which is free and fair.”