New bill to allow Kulbhushan appeal

PAKISTAN’S National Assembly has passed a government-backed bill that will provide the right of appeal to Indian death-row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav, according to a media report.

The National Assembly passed the ICJ (Review and Re-consideration) Bill, 2020 on Thursday aimed at allowing alleged Indian spy Jadhav to have consular access in line with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Speaking after the passage of the bill, Law Minister Farogh Nasim said had they not passed the bill, India would have gone to the UN Security Council and could have moved contempt proceedings against Pakistan in the ICJ.

THE US authorities and Google have been approached by the Jammu and Kashmir Police to share email contents exchanged by Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, a close aide of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, with Pakistan-based secessionist leaders and terrorists, a charge sheet filed by the union territory police has said. The charge sheet said there is a prima facie evidence ‘sufficient to launch prosecution’ against Parra for establishing a nexus with terrorists to seek their backing for his political gains and for reciprocating by way of providing a range of help and support which led to terror strikes.

‘During investigation, it was found that the accused used to receive instructions and advice from Pakistan-based secessionist and terrorist leaders and communicated action-taken reports and a host of information in furtherance of terrorism and secessionism,’ the charge sheet filed by the Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) wing of the police said.

The charge sheet, submitted before a designated court in Srinagar earlier this month, said Parra used to share information through several email services, of which three have been brought on record.