Kulbhushan Jadhav
Pakistani court forms special bench to hear Kulbhushan Jadhav's case
Islamabad/IBNS: The Islamabad High Court has set up a special bench to hear the case of former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court, on alleged charges of spying, said a Geo News report.
The bench headed by Islamabad high court chief justice Athar Minallah will hear the case from next week, the report added.
The Geo TV report said Jadhav will be given a lawyer on Monday to fight his case.
Earlier this week, Pakistan placed the International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance, 2020, in Parliament for approval. The ordinance, according to the Pakistani media report, will have an overriding effect as its provisions shall have effect notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any law for the time being in force, including the Pakistan Army Act 1952.
The law will pave the way for Jadhav to appeal against the death penalty handed to him by a military court in 2017, said the report.
On July 23, India accused Pakistan for not providing unimpeded consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, blocking legal remedies in violation of the ruling of International Court of Justice.
The External Affairs Ministry of India said the inadequacies and shortcomings in the said ordinance had been already conveyed to Pakistani authorities in June 2020, including a considerable delay in informing India about its promulgation.
"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," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had said in a statement.
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