Aishwarya Rathore –
Published On: October 06, 2021 at 11:52 IST
The Islamabad High Court in Pakistan granted India further time to appoint a counsel to represent Kulbhushan Jadhav in his Appeal against his conviction and sentence by a Military Court.
A Bench of Chief Justice Athar Minallah, Justices Aamer Farooq and Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb stated, “Pakistan wanted to implement the ICJ decision. Would it not be better to give them another opportunity so they could put forth their reservations before the Court?”
The Attorney General for Pakistan, Khalid Javed Khan, reminded the Court that it had passed an Order on May 5 asking the authorities to make one more attempt to contact India for the appointment of a counsel.
Khan further informed the Court that the message had been conveyed to India, but there had been no response so far.
Chief Justice Minallah further ordered, “Send another reminder to Kulbhushan and the Indian Government. If India has any reservations, it may convey them here, or someone from the Indian embassy in Pakistan may convey them. That might bring forth a solution.”
There was no progress on the Review issue since India refused to appoint a local counsel while demanding Pakistan to allow an Indian lawyer to defend Jadhav in the Court.
India has further asked Pakistan to address the “shortcomings” in a Review and Reconsideration Bill 2020 introduced to allow the review of Jadhav’s case.
Jadhav, a 51-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death in April 2017 by a Pakistani Military Court on espionage and terrorism charges.
India approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and appealing his death sentence.
Later, the Court adjourned the case for an indefinite period of time.
Also Read: Kulbhushan Jadhav Case at ICJ
Pakistan Court adjourns Kulbhushan Jadhav Case till October 5
Kulbhushan Jadhav case: Pakistan Court asks India to cooperate in legal proceedings