Government to table ICJ review ordinance in Senate today

ISLAMABAD: The government will table the International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance, 2020 — formulated in relation to Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav's appeal against his sentence — today in the Senate.

Federal Law Minister Farogh Naseem will present the ordinance in the upper house of the parliament.

The session will commence at 4pm today.

Earlier, the bill was presented before the National Assembly, where a heated debate took place between the government and opposition benches on the subject.

Govt approaches IHC to appoint lawyer for Jadhav

The government on July 22 had approached the Islamabad High Court to appoint a legal representative for the Indian spy.

The move was made in the light of the International Court of Justice's July 17, 2019 decision, following which the International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance, 2020 was enacted to implement the court's verdict.

The federation, through the defense secretary and the Judge Advocate General (JAG) branch of General Headquarters (GHQ), has been made a party in the petition filed by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

According to the petition, Jadhav refused to file a petition against his sentence.

The Indian spy cannot appoint a lawyer in Pakistan without India's assistance, while New Delhi is also reluctant to avail the facility under the ordinance, the petition said.

The government, in the petition, has asked the court to appoint a legal representative for Jadhav so that Pakistan can fulfil its responsibility to see to the implementation of the ICJ's decision.

On July 17, Pakistan had offered Jadhav consular access for a third time, after the second opportunity was not fully availed.

Jadhav and ICJ verdict

Commander Jadhav — an Indian Navy officer working for Indian covert agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) — was arrested on March 3, 2016, from Balochistan after he entered Pakistan from Iran.

On 10th April 2017, Jadhav was tried in a military court, which sentenced him to death for espionage and subversive activities. On May 18, 2017, the ICJ ordered Pakistan to halt the execution of Jadhav until a final decision was made in the proceedings.

On July 17, the court rejected India's appeal for Jadhav's release and asked Pakistan to suspend the execution. It ruled that Pakistan will have to review the entire process of trial and conviction of Jadhav and provide India with consular access. Over the past few days, Pakistan granted consular access to India thrice.