IHC larger bench to hear Kulbhushan case

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday formed a larger bench in the case pertaining to appointment of legal representative for Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.

The IHC larger bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mian Gull Hassan Auranzgeb will hear the case on Sept 3.

Earlier, on the direction of Islamabad High Court, Foreign Office had again contacted Indian government over matter of appointing lawyer for Kulbhushan Jadhav. On July 22, the Pakistani government had filed a petition in the high court seeking appointment of a lawyer for Jadhav. The petition stated that Kulbhushan, who was involved in several terrorist activities in Pakistan, refused to file plea against his sentence.

The agent cannot appoint lawyer in Pakistan without assistance from India. India is also reluctant to avail itself of the facility under the ordinance.

Therefore, in the national interest, the court should appoint a legal representative on behalf of Kulbhushan. The court should order so that Pakistan's responsibility is fulfilled as per the decision of the International Court of Justice, the petition further stated.