Pakistan blocking effective legal remedy to Kulbhushan Jadhav defying ICJ ruling : India

The Ministry of External Affairs said in a strong statement on Thursday that India has so far requested consular access twelve times over the past one year, but Pakistan has so far not been able to provide an unimpeded consular access.

The meeting of Consular Officers with Jadhav on July 16 was scuttled by Pakistan authorities as the officers were instructed not to hand over any document to him, preventing the handover of the Power of Attorney from  Jadhav, said Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava .

Pakistan also hindered access to documents related to Kulbhushan Jadhav's case, he said.

Indian officers were advised that the relevant documents could be handed over only to an authorised Pakistani lawyer. But, after India appointed a Pakistani lawyer to obtain the relevant documents, surprisingly the Pakistani declined to handover the documents to the lawyer.

"In the absence of an unimpeded and unhindered consular access as well as of the relevant documents, as a last resort, India tried to file a petition on July 18," the Ministry said.

However, the Pakistani lawyer appointed by the Indian Consulate informed that a review petition could not be filed in the absence of Kulbhushan Jadhav's power of attorney and supporting documents related to the case.

Pakistan also created confusion over the last date of filing a petition." Initially, they indicated that a petition has to be filed by no later than July 19. Subsequently, Pakistan indicated that the time limit to file a review petition shall expire on July 20," Srivastava said.

Knowing the inadequacies and shortcomings in the Ordinance, India had already shared its concerns in June 2020, including a considerable delay in informing India about its promulgation, with the Pakistan authorities.

"Pakistan took two weeks to inform us about this Ordinance and shared the copy of the Ordinance only after India requested the same. India has conveyed that the Ordinance neither fulfills nor does it give complete weight to the judgment of the ICJ.

"With regards to the Ordinance, it seems, Pakistan was non-serious in its approach and was not interested in implementing the judgment of the ICJ in letter and spirit. It has blocked all the avenues for an effective remedy available for India," Srivastava underlined.

"The whole exercise of not providing any documents related to the case even after repeated requests, not providing an unimpeded consular access and some reported unilateral action of approaching the HC on part of Pakistan again exposes the farcical nature of Pakistan’s approach.

"Pakistan is not only in violation of the judgment of ICJ, but also of its own Ordinance. Pakistan has completely failed to provide the remedy as directed by the ICJ and India reserves its position in the matter, including its rights to avail of further remedies," Srivastava said.

Kulbhushan Jadhav, a 50-year-old former Naval officer, was arrested by Pakistan in March 2016 on charges of espionage and a military court sentenced him to death a year later.

India rubbished the charges and took Pakistan to the International Court of Justice in April 2017, and the next month, Jadhav's execution was stayed.

Pakistan claimed Jadhav was arrested from Balochistan. Opposing it, India asserted he was kidnapped from Iran where he had personal business interests after retiring from the navy.

In July 2019, the ICJ ruled that Pakistan must ensure an "effective review and reconsideration" of Kulbhushan Jadhav's conviction and his sentence and also to grant consular access to India without further delay.