IHC tells govt to raise Jadhav lawyer issue with New Delhi again

The Islamabad High Court on Thursday asked the government to approach India once more regarding the appointment of a counsel for Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.

The government has petitioned the court to appoint a counsel for Jadhav so that the International Court of Justice's verdict which requires Pakistan to review Jadhav's death sentence can be implemented.

According to the petition, the Indian spy cannot appoint a lawyer in Pakistan without India's assistance, while New Delhi is also reluctant to avail the facility under the International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance, 2020, which was enacted to implement the ICJ verdict.

The case was heard today by a larger bench headed by Justice Athar Minahallah and comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb.

Attorney General Khalid Javed, Additional Attorney General Tariq Khokhar, and Deputy Attorney General Tayyab Shah were also present, besides senior lawyer Hamid Khan who was there in the capacity of a judicial assistant.

The petition has named the defence secretary and Judge Advocate General Branch GHQ as respondents.

During the course of the hearing, it was inquired whether the court's last order was implemented.

The attorney general, in response, said that on August 6, Jadhav was informed of the government's decision to appoint a counsel for him and that he has declined the offer.

He said that the Indian foreign ministry has yet to respond in this regard.

"Pakistan is ready to abide by the decision of the International Court of Justice," Attorney General Javed said, adding: "India is becoming an obstacle in the way of the review."

Javed requested the court to take the matter forward and order the appointment of a counsel.

The attorney general said India's response can be awaited for a while longer but warned that it seems India is "running away" from the implementation of the ICJ verdict.

"If India or Kulbhushan does not want to take advantage of the facility, then what will be the status of the review petition?" asked the court.

Justice Minallah said that the review process should be effective. "Wouldn't it be appropriate to make Indian an offer once more under the principles of a fair trial?" he remarked.

The attorney general noted that India has not outright refused to plead Jadhav's sentence. He said that India had also appointed a lawyer to review the paper work in Pakistan.

"I agree that India should be presented one more opportunity to appoint a counsel for Jadhav," Javed said.

He also said that Pakistan is ready to make India another offer for consular access to Jadhav.

According to the attorney general, no Indian lawyer can come here to practice law under the Pakistan Legal Practitioners Act and the law is the same in India since 1961.

He said the Indian supreme court had also ruled recently saying that no foreigner can fight a case in India.

"When they do not allow any foreigner to fight a case, then the law is the same in Pakistan too," the attorney general said.

The hearing of the case was adjourned till October 6.

Who is Kulbhushan Jadhav?

According to the Foreign Office, Jadhav is a serving commander of Indian Navy associated with Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

The spy was arrested on March 3, 2016, from Balochistan on allegations of espionage and terrorism.

According to the FO statement, he had confessed during investigation to "to his involvement in terrorist activities inside Pakistan that resulted in loss of many precious human lives".

"He also made important revelations about RAW’s role in sponsoring state terrorism in Pakistan," the statement added.

Jadhav was given a death sentence by a Pakistan military court on April 10, 2017.