According to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is imprisoned in Pakistan on suspicion of being an Indian spy, was denied the opportunity to appeal a 2019 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision because it solely dealt with the issue of consular access.
Ruling in favour of India in June 2019, the ICJ affirmed Mr Jadhav’s right to consular access and called on Pakistan to review and reconsider his conviction and death sentence.
Pakistan’s Defence Ministry lawyer Khawaja Haris Ahmed on Wednesday mentioned the case of Mr Jadhav before a constitutional bench of that country’s Supreme Court, during a proceeding against Pakistani citizen who were convicted by military courts for their alleged involvement in the massive protest over the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in May 2023.
The Pakistani government calls the series of riots that broke out on May 9, 2023 a “Black Day”.
Mr Ahmed said the right to appeal which was available to Mr Jadhav was, however, not given to Pakistan’s own citizens who were convicted in the May 2023 riots cases.
The Pakistani Supreme Court was told that Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan was busy in deliberations over the question of providing the right to appeal before superior courts to the convicts of the May 9 incidents, for which he needed a couple of days, Dawn reported.
Pakistan claims Mr Jadhav was arrested from Balochistan in 2016 on charges of espionage and terrorism.
India rejected Pakistan’s allegations, and said the retired Indian Navy officer was kidnapped from the Iranian port of Chabahar, where he had business interests following his retirement.
The ICJ’s verdict further instructed Pakistan to postpone Mr. Jadhav’s execution until Pakistan thoroughly examines and reexamines the conviction and sentencing.
A year after the world court verdict, in July 2020, India claimed that Pakistan had refused to apply the ICJ ruling in “letter and spirit” despite the court’s agreement with India’s position that Pakistan had breached the Vienna Convention by preventing him from entering the country’s consulate.
The trial to convict Mr. Jadhav has been deemed “farcical” by India.
