Kulbhushan Sudhir Yadav is an Indian citizen who was arrested in the Pakistan on charges of terrorism and spying for India’s intelligence agency. He was in the Indian navy. He was arrested on suspect on 3rd March 2016. On Wednesday he was sentenced to death by the Pakistan Army Court. India response that he had been put into force against not appealing against his conviction in April 2017, whereas Pakistan claimed earlier that in the day that Mr. Jadhav was arrested on charges espionage and terrorism in 2016 but he refused to file an appeal in the Islamabad High Court.
Pakistani Foreign office in Islamabad, Pakistan’s Additional attorney-general Ahmed Ifran stated than an ordinance had been issued in May that allowed Mr. Jadhav, his legal representative or a representative of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to file a review petition in International Court of Justice (ICJ) in accordance with the verdict of July 2019.
The external affairs ministry said in a statement that India was not obstructed to have access to Shri Jadhav to discuss his remedies under the ordinance. In order to take the remedy under the ordinance, Pakistan has been suspected to put fear into the mind of Jadhav in order to forgo his rights to seek an implementation of the Judgment of the International Court of Justice.
It’s an interesting fact to look into as confirmed by the Pakistani Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa confirmed the Court Martial verdict that Mr. Jadhav who was awarded sentence by a Pakistani Army Field general Court martial, has now been extended the right to appeal in a civilian court- the Islamabad High Court. Mr. Ifran claimed that on June 17 2020 Mr Jadhav was called to file a review petition in the Islamabad High Court against his sentence but he chose not to file any review against his conviction. Mr. Jadhav said “Preferred to follow-up” on his pending “mercy “petition.
The Pakistani legal officer also claimed that:
they had written repeatedly to the Indian High Court Commission to file a review petition on behalf of Mr. Jadhav. India in reply said that Pakistan had all along maintained that their laws allowed for effective review and reconsideration. They said that it’s been almost a year that they have changed their minds and issued an ordinance to ostensibly provide for some sort of review. They said that they have expressed their serious concern and how this ordinance violates the ICJ rules. The Ministry said Pakistan is only trying to create an imaginary right of remedy. In July 2019 Judgment the ICJ ordered Pakistan to review Mr. Jadhav’s death sentence, ruling that India has the right to have consular access to its national had been violated.
The Judge said that the Pakistan had deprived the Republic of India of the right to communicate with and have access to Mr. Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav to visit him in detention and to arrange for a legal representative. The world court ruled and said that a continued stay of execution constitutes an indispensable condition for the effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence of Mr. Jadhav. After obtaining the ICJ judgment India finally obtained access to Mr. Jadhav in September 2019 but under CCTV surveillance and in front of Pakistan officials. According to the deadline given by Pakistan on Wednesday Mr Jadhav has until July 20 to file application petition against his conviction and sentence in the Islamabad High Court. Mr. Ifran had also claimed that Pakistan had offered India consular access to Mr. Jadhav for another second time.
