World / Kulbhushan refused to file review petition against death sentence: Pak

Islamabad: Pakistan has offered India a second consular access to Kulbushan Jadhav, the former Indian Navy officer who is on a death row. He was arrested on charges of espionage in Balochistan in March 2016 and sentenced to death by a military court a year later.

“In the first round, he met his mother and wife and now we have offered to let him meet his father and wife,” Additional Attorney General Ahmed Irfan said in a press conference on Wednesday.

Irfan jointly held the press conference with Director-General of South Asia and SAARC at the Pakistan Foreign Office, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri. They told the media that Pakistan enacted the International Court of Justice Review and Reconsideration Ordinance, 2020 in May this year which allows review petitions within a certain period of time.But the officials said that Jadhav has refused to file a review petition against the death sentence awarded to him. Last July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Pakistan to provide consular access to Jadhav and review his death sentence.

“The petitions can be filed before the Islamabad High Court,” explained Irfan, adding that in this case, it can be filed by Jadhav himself, an appointed representative or a consular official of the Indian high commission.

“On June 17 we invited Jadhav to file a petition for the reconsideration of his conviction and offered him legal representation but he refused to file the petition and instead preferred to follow up on his pending mercy petition,” said Irfan.

He said the government had also repeatedly written to the Indian high commission to file the petition and initiate the process for a review before the deadline.

“Pakistan is fully cognizant of its international obligations and committed to implementing the ICJ judgment in letter and spirit,” he said expressing hope that India will follow due legal course and cooperate with courts in Pakistan to give effect to the ICJ judgement.

India has rejected the allegations against Jadhav and said he was kidnapped by Pakistani operatives from the Iranian port of Chabahar, where he was running a business. In May 2017, New Delhi petitioned the ICJ, which stayed Jadhav’s execution. In its ruling on July 17, the ICJ said its stay of the death sentence should continue.