Pak's parliament passes Bill to give Kulbhushan Jadhav right to appeal as per ICJ ruling

Islamabad: The Pakistan Parliament, in a joint sitting on Wednesday, passed a bill that will give Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav the right to appeal against his conviction.

The International Court of Justice (Review and Re-consideration) Bill, 2020, was moved by Law Minister Farogh Nasim. It was passed with a majority vote, Dawn reported.

Jadhav, a retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court in April 2017. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its judgment on July 17, 2019, observed that Pakistan was under an obligation to provide by means of its own choosing effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav.

The ICJ had ruled that Pakistan was in breach of its international obligations because of the failure to provide consular access to Jadhav.

Pakistan claims that Jadhav was arrested from Balochistan in 2016 on charges of espionage. India has rejected Pakistan's allegations and said he was kidnapped from the Iranian port of Chabahar.

The Pakistan National Assembly had on June 10 this year adopted a bill to give the right of appeal to Kulbhushan Jadhav.

The bill seeks to provide a further right of review and reconsideration in giving effect to the judgment of the International Court of Justice, Ary News reported.

It was adopted by the National Assembly after approval from the 21-member standing committee.

According to the bill, the High Court has the power to review and reconsider where the ICJ, in relation to a foreign national, passes an order in respect of rights under the Vienna Convention of Consular Relations or a foreign national is aggrieved in respect of the rights available under the same.