The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ordered the federal government to contact the Indian government again regarding the appointment of legal counsel to Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav and to ask if the Indian government wanted to pursue the case at all.
A larger bench headed by IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Athar Minallah, and comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, conducted a hearing on Thursday of the case related to the appointment of a defence lawyer for Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.
The bench heard the Ministry of Law’s plea regarding provision of counsel to Indian spy Jadhav for the implementation of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) decision.
The ICJ had directed Pakistan to inform Jadhav of his rights under Article 36 and grant India consular access. The court had also ruled that Pakistan should review the case while considering its laws. The ICJ also asked Pakistan to review Jadhav’s death penalty.
It is pertinent to mention that the Indian High Commission has not appointed counsel for the captured spy in spite of being sent notices four times.
IHC CJ Minallah asked, “Is the Indian government not serious in the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav?”
“The government should once again contact India and ask whether it wants to pursue the Kulbhushan case or not,” he added.
Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan could not appear before the court as he was busy in the presidential reference regarding the Senate elections, so Deputy Attorney General Syed Muhammad Tayyab Shah appeared in his place.
In reply to a question on the release of Indian prisoners, Shah confirmed that so far four prisoners have been released, while the fifth will be released on January 22.
Further hearing of the case was adjourned till February 3.
Pakistan had last month rejected the assertions of the India Ministry of External Affairs regarding the legal proceedings purportedly under way in the aforementioned case of Indian Naval Commander Jadhav.
These reports had been termed as “misleading” and “incorrect” in a statement by the Foreign Office (FO), which added the Indian government was looking for an escape from the legal proceedings in the case.
Earlier on July 17, 2019, the ICJ had rejected remedies sought by India, including annulment of military court decision convicting Jadhav, his release and safe passage to India.
Jadhav was arrested by authorities from Balochistan in a counter-intelligence operation on March 3, 2016. During the investigation, he confessed to his involvement in terrorist activities inside Pakistan that resulted in the loss of many precious human lives.
