The Indian High Commission has said that it will decide whether to appoint a lawyer for incarcerated spy Kulbhushan Jadhav after the release of another Indian prisoner named Ismail is secured.
Its lawyer told the Islamabad High Court that India is more concerned with Ismail’s case at present. He was one of eight Indian prisoners for whom the High Commission had filed a release petition. The other seven prisoners have been released.
Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard on Tuesday the Sepoy Jaspal Singh case. During the hearing, Indian High Commission lawyer Barrister Shahnawaz Noon informed the court that Deputy High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia wants to address the court.
Attorney General Khalid Javed Khan strongly opposed the request and said whatever the Indian High Commission wants to say can be said through its lawyer. However, Justice Minallah said they would welcome if someone from the high commission came to speak in court.
But first, India must decide if it wants to appoint a lawyer for Jadhav or not, said Justice Minallah. If progress can be made in this case, that is a good thing, he said. “The point is to implement the ICJ’s judgment.”
The court has summoned a reply from the attorney-general on Ismail’s case and gave the Indian High Commission three weeks to decide whether it wants to appoint a lawyer for Jadhav. The case has been adjourned till January 14.
Kulbhushan Jadhav case
Jadhav — a serving Indian Navy officer working for Indian spy agency Research & Analysis Wing — was arrested in Balochistan on charges of espionage in March 2016. He was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court a year later.
In July 2019, the International Court of Justice had ordered Pakistan to provide consular access to Jadhav and review his death sentence. Pakistan enacted on May 20 the International Court of Justice Review and Reconsideration Ordinance, 2020 which allows review petitions within a certain period of time. The petitions could be filed to the Islamabad High Court.
However, Pakistan says Jadhav has turned down its offer as has New Delhi.
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