ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday deferred the hearing of federal government's plea seeking the appointment of a legal representative for Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav for filing a review petition against his death sentence.
A three-judge special bench headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah and comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the government's plea.
Acceding to the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP)'s request, the bench deferred the hearing without any further proceedings till October 5th.
In the last hearing, Hamid Khan, who was appointed amicus curiae, asked the court that there was no need to file a petition by the Law Ministry for provision of a lawyer to Kulbhushan Jadhav instead military court's judgment could be challenged.
However, the IHC chief justice appreciated the government step for giving an opportunity to Indian government and its citizen to get legal advantage.
The AGP opposed the stance of Hamid Khan and said there could be a contempt proceeding underway in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Hague, if the government would have not filed this petition.
He also said the government had no sympathy for a murderer of Pakistanis and India had been waiting for the conclusion of this case before the IHC to approach the ICJ.
The AGP further said a presidential ordinance was also issued in Pakistan for implementation of the ICJ verdict.
He said India again wanted a proceeding at international forum on January 1, 2021, pertaining to the matter but it could not do it due to pendency of the case before the IHC.
In this matter, the federal government filed the petition regarding the death sentence of convicted Indian spy, Kulbhushan Jadhav, to implement the ICJ's decision to meet the requirements of a fair trial.
The Ministry of Law and Justice requested the court for appointment of a legal representative for Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian spy and agent of Indian intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), so that he can file a review petition against his death sentence.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021