Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, currently imprisoned in Pakistan on charges of espionage, was not granted the right to appeal following the 2019 International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict, as it addressed only consular access, according to a report by Pakistani daily Dawn.
In June 2019, the ICJ ruled in India’s favor, affirming Jadhav’s right to consular access and instructing Pakistan to review and reconsider his conviction and death sentence.
Kulbhushan’s Case was referred in an ongoing case in Pak Supreme Court
On Wednesday, Khawaja Haris Ahmed, a lawyer for Pakistan’s Defence Ministry, referenced Jadhav’s case while appearing before a constitutional bench of the country’s Supreme Court. The hearing concerned Pakistani citizens convicted by military courts for their alleged involvement in the May 2023 protests following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan—a day the government has dubbed “Black Day.”
Mr. Ahmed argued that while the right to appeal had been extended to Jadhav, it had not been offered to Pakistan’s own citizens convicted in connection with the May 9 unrest.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court was informed that Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan was engaged in discussions regarding whether the May 9 convicts should be granted the right to appeal in higher courts. He reportedly requested additional time to conclude deliberations, Dawn said.
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Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested in Pakistan for allegedly spying for India
Pakistan maintains that Jadhav was arrested in 2016 in Balochistan on charges of terrorism and espionage. India, however, has consistently denied the claims, stating that Jadhav, a retired Indian Navy officer, was abducted from the Iranian port city of Chabahar, where he was pursuing business interests post-retirement.
The ICJ ruling also instructed Pakistan to suspend Jadhav’s execution until a meaningful review of his conviction was completed.
In July 2020, a year after the ICJ judgment, India accused Pakistan of failing to implement the ruling in both “letter and spirit,” emphasizing that the trial and conviction had been “farcical” and in violation of the Vienna Convention due to denial of consular access.
