Pakistan gives Kulbhushan Jadhav right to appeal against his conviction

In a major success for India in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, Pakistan has given him the right to file a review appeal against his conviction by passing a bill in its parliament.

According to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), now Pakistan is now bound to give the right to appeal to Jadhav.

The neighbouring country has made several false allegations against Kulbhushan Jadhav in Pakistan’s jail and he was not given the right to appeal. Pakistan has been alleging that it had arrested Jadhav from Balochistan and that he is an Indian spy.

Pakistan’s military court has sentenced Jadhav to death, accusing him of espionage, but the matter is still pending in the International Court of Justice. Pakistan did not even give the right to appeal to Jadhav in the higher court, which India is continuously opposing. Apart from this, this issue was also raised by India in ICJ from where Pakistan was strongly reprimanded.

The International Court of Justice, in its decision of the year 2019, had said that Pakistan should review the matter. The ICJ had also directed Pakistan to provide immediate diplomatic help to Jadhav.

In July 2020, Pakistan provided consular access to Jadhav, but the Indian government said the access was “neither meaningful nor credible” and he appeared visibly under stress. The Ministry of External Affairs said Pakistan is not only in violation of the judgment of ICJ but also of its own ordinance. India approached the ICJ against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and challenging the death sentence.

Pakistan claims that its security forces arrested Jadhav from the restive Balochistan province on March 3, 2016, after he reportedly entered from Iran. India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy