Govt files petition in IHC regarding Indian spy Jadhav death sentence

Decision was taken to implement ICJ’s requirements of a fair trial

ISLAMABAD:

The federal government on Wednesday filed an application in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) regarding the death sentence of convicted Indian spy, Kulbhushan Jadhav, to implement the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) decision to meet the requirements of a fair trial.

The application was filed by the Ministry of Law and Justice under a federal ordinance. The government took the decision as the Indian spy refused to file a review appeal against his death sentence. The Indian government also refused to take advantage of Pakistan's review appeal facility.

The petition stated that the IHC should appoint a counsel to review and reconsider the verdict of the military court in accordance with the decision of the ICJ.

The Judge Advocate General (JAG) branch of General Headquarters (GHQ) and the Ministry of Defence had been made parties in the petition.

The government further stated that Jadhav refused to file a review petition or an application to reconsider the verdict, adding that he did not have independent sources to hire counsel to represent him.

On July 16, Pakistan offered India third consular access to Jadhav as the day before Indian diplomats walked out of the meeting without hearing him.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had said that Pakistan was willing to provide another consular access to India without the presence of security personnel.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui confirmed the development and said that Pakistan had informed India in writing, offering them to meet Jadhav for the third time.

The spokesperson said that the offer was made as “goodwill gesture” after India claimed that the environment of meeting with Jadhav on July 16 was not “friendly”.

New Delhi had objected to the presence of security personnel during the meeting, although Pakistan had accepted all other demands such as arranging meeting without a glass partition and without audio or video recording.

The Indian High Commission was told that Pakistan was now willing to even remove the security personnel but the Indian government has yet to respond to the latest offer.

A Foreign Office source explained that there were some legal formalities that Pakistan had to fulfil in order to implement the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision.

In July 2019, the ICJ ruled that Pakistan must grant consular access to India without any delay and at the same called for the “effective review and reconsideration” of the Jadhav’s case.

Commander Jadhav, who was arrested in March 2016 in a counter-intelligence operation from Balochistan, was sentenced to death by a military court a year later. His mercy petition had been pending before the army chief.

The source observed that India was being granted consular access to fulfil its obligations under an ordinance promulgated in May.