The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday fixed the hearing of a government plea seeking the appointment of a legal representative for Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav on August 3.
A division bench of the IHC comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb will conduct hearing on the petition.
The plea, which had been filed under the Presidential Ordinance and nominated federation as respondent through defence secretary and judge advocate general branch of general headquarters, adopted the stance that Jadhav had refused to file a petition against his sentence.
It said that the Indian spy cannot appoint a legal representative in Pakistan without the assistance of India, while New Delhi was also reluctant to avail the facility under the ordinance.
The application requested the court to appoint a legal representative for Jadhav so that Pakistan could fulfill its responsibility according to the International Court of Justice (ICsJ’) orders.
On July 17, Pakistan had offered Jadhav consular access for a third time, after the second opportunity was not fully availed.
The move was made in the light of the ICJ's July 17, 2019 decision, following which the ICJ (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance, 2020 was enacted to implement the court's verdict.
Commander Jadhav, Indian Navy officer working for Indian covert agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), was arrested on March 3, 2016, from Balochistan.
He made important revelations about RAW's role in sponsoring state terrorism in Pakistan.
Jadhav’s death sentence was announced on April 10, 2017.
With input from APP
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