Khalid Khan urges Opposition not to politicise Kulbhushan issue

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI   -  Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan Thursday asked the opposition not to politicise the issue of Kulbhushan Jadhav, the Indian spy and agent of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

Talking to media persons at his office, AGP Khalid Jawed said that after the passing of bill, the Indian designs to isolate Pakistan internationally have failed. He added that New Delhi was planning to take the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the UNSC. The AGP said that Kulbhushan Jadhav is an Indian spy and murderer of Pakistanis but the legislation allowing Jadhav to appeal against his sentence has been done in line with the ICJ verdict. He urged the opposition not to politicise the issue, and said, “I am ready to brief the opposition parties if they want.”

On 5th October of this year, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had granted India another opportunity to assist it about the Pakistani government’s plea seeking the appointment of a legal representative for Indian spy for filing his review petition against his death sentence.

The federal government has filed the petition to implement the ICJ decision to meet the requirements of a fair trial. It requested the court for appointment of legal representative for Jadhav so that he can file a review petition against his death sentence. The AGP told that the Pakistani government wanted complete implementation on the decision of review and reconsideration of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), but India intentionally did not want it.

APP adds: Through the legislation, Pakistan has provided counsellor access to Kulbhushan who is an Indian spy and the killer of Pakistani citizens, the AGP said while talking to a private television channel.   Kulbhushan Jadhav had been involved in terrorist activities against Pakistan, he stated.  Provision of Counsellor’s access to Jadhav would never benefit to India as well as the spy, he added. 

He rubbished the notions of extending any facilitation to the Indian spy through the said legislation because he had murdered Pakistani people. Rather, it has stopped the Indian designs for isolating Pakistan from the International forum like United Nation, he said. The Pakistan government pushed through a bill to help Kulbhushan Jadhav appeal against the death sentence given to him by a military court during a joint session of Parliament that was marred by protests by the opposition, Hindustan Times reported Thursday.

The International Court of Justice (Review and Re-consideration) Act of 2021 is on the same lines as an ordinance issued last year by the Pakistan government to facilitate Jadhav’s right to appeal against the death sentence given to him for alleged involvement in espionage and subversive activities, Indian media claimed. Experts said the law would not make a material difference to the case of Jadhav and was more about meeting legal requirements so that he could mount a proper appeal in Pakistani courts. 

The law allows a foreign national to file a petition in a Pakistani high court for review and reconsideration of a conviction or sentence given by a military court.

Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested in March 2016 in Balochistan on charges of terror spying and sentenced to death the following year.