India awaits Pak reply on Jadhav’s legal recourse

NEW DELHI: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) might soon set a time-frame on the detailed hearing of the Kulbhushan Jadhav case.

However, New Delhi is yet to hear from Pakistan as to whether the former naval officer will be allowed domestic legal recourse, which had been mentioned during the hearing of the case at ICJ.

Jadhav was sentenced by a military court on charges of sabotage and espionage. India moved the ICJ citing violation of the Vienna Convention on consular access by the neighbour as well as immediate danger to his life.

Gautam Bambawale, the Indian high commissioner to Pak, handed over two appeals from Jadhav’s mother – one to the Pakistan Army’s court of appeal against the death sentence, and another asking the Pak government to free her son --- to Pakistan’s foreign secretary, Tehmina Janjua, in Islamabad on April 26.

“We have received no response from Pak govt on the two appeals,” said an official. Jadhav was sentenced to death for alleged involvement in terrorism and espionage. A statement from Sartaj Aziz, Pak PM Nawaz Sharif’s adviser on foreign affairs, said Jadhav had the right to appeal to an army appellate court within 40 days.

Pakistan’s lawyer talked about the legal recourse available to Jadhav when the matter was heard at ICJ.

“This was pointed out during the hearing at the ICJ when the Pakistan side was opposing the argument that Jadhav’s life was in imminent danger,” said an official.

One of the reasons for the immediacy Indian side argued for was the unusual precedence of a military court sentencing Jadhav to death and Islamabad turning down the request for consular access 16 times.