Pak court – Indian Defence Research Wing


SOURCE: PTI

A Pakistani court has said India’s cooperation was necessary to implement the International Court of Justice’s verdict in death-row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case, stating that the Indian High Commission here could approach it if it has reservations.

The Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb on Monday heard a petition filed by the law ministry seeking the appointment of a lawyer for Jadhav to file a review plea against his death sentence by a Pakistani military court in 2017, Geo News reported.

During the hearing, Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan said that the federal government has taken all measures to ensure the implementation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision, the report said.

Asked about the steps taken to eliminate India’s reservations, Khan alleged that New Delhi was deliberately avoiding the court proceedings, it said.

Justice Minallah said that India’s cooperation was necessary to implement the ICJ verdict and stated that the Indian High Commission could approach the court if it had reservations.

The bench then adjourned hearing till December 1.

Fifty-year-old retired Indian Navy officer Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017.

In 2017, India approached the ICJ against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and challenging the death sentence handed to him by a military court.

The Hague-based ICJ ruled in July 2019 that Pakistan must undertake an “effective review and reconsideration” of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav and also to grant consular access to India without further delay.

A Pakistani court was informed on October 6 that India failed to appoint a lawyer to represent Jadhav in the case of the review of his death sentence by a military court in this country.

Earlier, Pakistan had again rejected India’s demand that an Indian lawyer or a Queen’s counsel should be appointed for Jadhav to ensure a free and fair trial in the case.

On October 8, India said that Pakistan has failed to address the core issues in Jadhav’s case and pressed for an “unimpeded, unconditional and unhindered” consular access to him as ordered by the ICJ.

“The core issues need to be addressed if we have to have effective review and reconsideration as ordered by the international court of justice. Pakistan must show its intention to deliver on the core issues,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had said.