NEW DELHI: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has said that former Indian Navy Officer, Kulbhushan Jadhav, deserves the right to a fair trial and in that context has asked India to depute a lawyer for him by April 13th.
IHC announced this after hearing arguments by Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP), Khalid Javed Khan, yesterday.
The court has also asked the Indian government to depute a member of its mission in Pakistan to attend hearings of the petition against Jadhav’s conviction.
The Indian government hasn’t responded to this announcement yet. However, India has for long been pressing for consular access to Jadhav and also the appointment for an Indian lawyer for him to enable a free and fair trial. India has repeatedly called upon Pakistan to abide by the letter and spirit of the ICJ (International Court of Justice) judgment.
The Minister of External Affairs (MEA) had earlier said, "Pakistan continues to deny unimpeded and unhindered consular access to Jadhav and has failed to create an atmosphere in which a fair trial can be conducted.’’
Jadhav, a 51-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017. India approached the ICJ against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and challenging the death sentence.
After hearing both sides, the Hague-based ICJ issued a verdict in July 2019, asking Pakistan to give India consular access to Jadhav and also ensure review of his conviction.
The Pakistan National Assembly had adopted a bill on June 10th, 2021, giving Kulbhushan Jadhav the right to appeal against the death sentence awarded by their military court in April 2017. The Pakistan assembly claims to have carried out the legislation in compliance with a ruling given by the International Court of Justice in July 2019, asking Pakistan to grant Jadhav the right to appeal against the death sentence and also to give him consular access.