ISLAMABAD, Pakistan
Pakistan’s government on Wednesday filed a petition with a court in the capital Islamabad for the review of a previous ruling by a military tribunal for the execution of a convicted Indian spy, local media reported.
Urging the implementation of a 2019 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav to be provided consular access with a continued stay of his execution, the Ministry of Law and Justice asked the Islamabad High Court to appoint a counsel to review and reconsider the verdict of the military court following the decision of the ICJ, according to the daily Express Tribune.
The petition was meant to fulfill legal formalities after Jadhav and the Indian government refused last week to file a review appeal with the court themselves, which ruled that he be treated under the Vienna Convention.
On July 16, Pakistan granted Jadhav consular access with Indian diplomats for a second time. Pakistani officials claim that the consultation was “unimpeded and uninterrupted,” though India has contested this, saying they were unable to engage Jadhav on “his legal rights and were prevented from obtaining his written consent for arranging his legal representation.”
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi offered Jadhav a third consultation, though this is pending India’s response to the proposal.
Before Jadhav’s consular meeting last week, Pakistan invited India to file a review and reconsideration petition before the Islamabad High Court against the conviction. The invitation, it said, was extended after Jadhav twice declined to take advantage of the law.
– ‘Espionage and sabotage’
Jadhav — who Pakistan says was a serving officer in the Indian Navy — was arrested in 2016 in the town of Mashkel in the western Balochistan province, a few miles from the border with Iran.
He was convicted of espionage, sabotage and terrorist activities in Pakistan and sentenced to death in 2017.
New Delhi, however, denies the charges, declaring Jadhav a retired naval officer who was kidnapped in Iran, where he was doing business.
Asking the UN court to intervene, it said his trial had been unfair and that Pakistan denied him diplomatic assistance. The execution was stayed in May 2017 pending a final decision in the proceedings.
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