Islamabad court orders government to allow India to appoint lawyer for Kulbhushan Jadhav

In this file photo, former Indian navy officer Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav is seen on a screen during a news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad on Dec. 25, 2017. (REUTERS)

• The former naval commander was arrested in 2016 in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Baluchistan and convicted of espionage
• India took the matter to the International Court of Justice which ordered a stay on Jadhav’s execution in 2019

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad high court on Monday ordered the Pakistan government to give India a ‘chance’ to appoint a representative for Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian man condemned to death on charges of spying, Pakistani media reported.
Former Indian Naval Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested in 2016 in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Baluchistan and convicted of espionage and sabotage by a Pakistani military court a year later.
India took the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which ordered a stay on Jadhav’s execution in 2019, as well as consular access for India. Pakistan was also ordered to conduct an “effective review” of the death penalty.
Indian officials say they have been prevented from obtaining Jadhav’s written consent to arrange legal representation, necessary for a review of his case. Earlier this month, Pakistan invited India to file a review against the death sentence in light of the ICJ judgment.
A two-member bench comprising IHC chief justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard a petition filed by the Pakistan government to appoint a lawyer for Jadhav on Monday.
Responding to the judge’s remarks, Pakistan’s Attorney General Khalid Javed Khan said an ordinance had been passed by parliament recently to give an opportunity to India and Jadhav to file a review petition against the sentence.
“We will contact India again through the Foreign Office,” he said.
Under the ‘International Court of Justice Review and Reconsideration Ordinance 2020’, which was enacted on May 20, a petition for the review of a military court’s decision can be filed with the Islamabad high court through an application within 60 days of its promulgation.
The Pakistan government has said Jadhav refuses to file a review petition or an application to reconsider the military court’s verdict.
Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said last week Pakistan had blocked all avenues for effective remedy available to India in the Jadhav case, saying New Delhi has so far requested consular access to Jadhav for 12 times over the past one year.