In the ongoing Kulbhushan Jadhav case, the Islamabad High Court set October 6 as the hearing date for appointing a defence counsel on Thursday, as per local media. The High Court has directed the Imran Khan-led government to give India another chance to appoint a legal representative for Jadhav – who was captured in 2017, while the Pakistan govt claimed ‘India has not responded to the offer’. Pakistan has repeatedly dismissed the request to allow Indian lawyers to represent Jadhav in what is a violation of the ICJ verdict. 

Pak extends ICJ review ordinance

On September 15, the Pakistan parliament extended the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Review and Re-consideration Ordinance 2020 which was due to expire on September 17, for another four months. The Ordinance will allow Kulbhushan Jadhav to file an appeal in a high court against his conviction. Recently, Pakistan blocked the Indian lawyer assigned to Jadhav from filing a review petition with the MEA insisting a ‘free and fair’ trial for Jadhav.

Pakistan fails to provide meaningful consular access

On July 16, Pakistan once again failed to fulfill its obligations pertaining to the ICJ verdict by not providing unimpeded, unhindered, and unconditional access to Kulbhushan Jadhav. The MEA stated that Pakistani officials with an intimidating demeanor were present in close proximity to Jadhav and the consular officers. Moreover, Jadhav also allegedly missed the deadline to file the review petition in the Islamabad High Court amid the confusion over the date. India has been granted two consular meetings with Jadhav till date.

The International Court of Justice had on July 17, 2019, gave a unanimous decision (15-1) in favour of India. Pronouncing its verdict in the matter, the ICJ had called out Pakistan for violating the Vienna Convention, declaring that Pakistan had breached the Vienna Convention by not informing India about Jadhav’s detention. The ICJ also verified the legality of India approaching the court in the matter and reaffirmed its jurisdiction in the case, ordering Pakistan to provide India consular access to Jadhav. Pakistan was furthermore asked to review and reconsider its conviction of the sentence of Kulbhushan Jadhav and declared a continued stay on the execution of Jadhav.