IHC Orders Federal Govt To Give Another Chance To India To Appoint Legal Representative For Kulbhushan

(@fidahassanain)

IHC orders federal govt to give another chance to India to appoint legal representative for Kulbhushan

Attorney General for Pakistan told the court that Pakistan made an offer to India for appointment of legal representative for Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadav.

ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Sept 3rd, 2020) Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered the Federal government to give another chance to India to appoint legal representative for spy and RAW agent Kulbhushan Jadav on Thursday.

A IHC larger bench led by Chief Justice Athar Minallah passed the order after hearing arguments of the case.

As the proceedings commenced Attorney General for Pakistan said that Pakistan allowed counselor access to India as per International Court of Justice. He said that India did not respond to Pakistan’s offer to appoint lawyer for the Indian spy.

At this, the bench ordered the federal government to give another chance to Indian government to appoint legal representative for Spy and RAW agent Kulbhushan Jadhav and adjourned the hearing until Oct 06.

Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Javed Khan, Additional Attorney General Tariq Khokhar and Deputy Attorney General Tayyab Shah appeared in the court while senior lawyer Hamid Khan was also present in the court as a judicial assistant.

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, has refused to file plea against his sentence. The agent cannot appoint lawyer in Pakistan without assistance from India. India is also reluctant to avail 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.

On July 17, 2020, Pakistan decided to grant third consular access to Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been awarded death sentence on espionage charges by a military court in the country.

Fida Hussnain

Fida Hussnain is a lahore based journalist. He writes on politics, religion, social issues and climate change. He is also a research fellow at University of Gujrat.