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The Pakistani parliament on Thursday gave its approval to a bill that would allow Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer currently in Pakistan’s custody, to appeal against his conviction on espionage charges in the country’s high courts. The bill has been framed in accordance with the verdict of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which had ordered Pakistan to undertake an “effective review and reconsideration” of Jadhav’s conviction.
It may be recalled that a Pakistani military court had given a death sentence to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017. Following this India had moved to the ICJ against Pakistan for denying consular access to Jadhav. The ICJ in its verdict ordered Pakistan to allow consular access for Jadhav and to review his death sentence.
The bill, named ‘International Court of Justice (Review and Re-consideration) Act’, was passed by the lower house of Pakistan’s parliament- the National Assembly after getting approved by a standing committee. The bill empowers Pakistan’s high courts to review conviction of a foreign prisoner if the ICJ passes an order with respect to the Vienna Convention(consular relations) or if a foreign national feels he/she has been deprived of rights under the convention. Notably, both India and Pakistan are signatories to the Vienna Convention.
A foreign prisoner can now approach the high court for review and reconsideration of conviction ordered by a military court of Pakistan. Earlier in 2021, the Islamabad High Court began hearing the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav and four other Indians who were under arrest despite completing their sentences.
Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested by Pakistani authorities in 2016. While Pakistan claims he was arrested from its Balochistan province on espionage charges, India has rejected this claim and alleged that Jadhav was abducted by Pakistan from the Chabahar Port, Iran, where he was running a business.