'No Right To Appeal For Kulbhushan Jadhav Because...': Pak Supreme Court Told

Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is in a Pakistan jail over allegations that he was an Indian spy, was not given the right to appeal following a verdict by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2019 because the ruling only addressed the matter of consular access, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.

Ruling in favour of India in June 2019, the ICJ affirmed Mr Jadhav's right to consular access and called on Pakistan to review and reconsider his conviction and death sentence.

Pakistan's Defence Ministry lawyer Khawaja Haris Ahmed on Wednesday mentioned the case of Mr Jadhav before a constitutional bench of that country's Supreme Court, during a proceeding against Pakistani citizen who were convicted by military courts for their alleged involvement in the massive protest over the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in May 2023.

The Pakistani government calls the series of riots that broke out on May 9, 2023 a "Black Day".

Mr Ahmed said the right to appeal which was available to Mr Jadhav was, however, not given to Pakistan's own citizens who were convicted in the May 2023 riots cases.

The Pakistani Supreme Court was told that Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan was busy in deliberations over the question of providing the right to appeal before superior courts to the convicts of the May 9 incidents, for which he needed a couple of days, Dawn reported.

Pakistan claims Mr Jadhav was arrested from Balochistan in 2016 on charges of espionage and terrorism.

India rejected Pakistan's allegations, and said the retired Indian Navy officer was kidnapped from the Iranian port of Chabahar, where he had business interests following his retirement.

In the ruling, the ICJ also told Pakistan that Mr Jadhav's execution should remain suspended until Pakistan effectively reviews and reconsiders the conviction and sentence.

In July 2020, a year after the world court ruling, India said Pakistan refused to implement the ICJ ruling in "letter and spirit" even after the court agreed with India's stand that Pakistan violated the Vienna Convention by denying consular access to him.

India has called the trial to convict Mr Jadhav "farcical".

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