Pak military court violates international standards: Amnesty

By sentencing Indian national Kulbushan Jadhav to death, Pakistan's military court system has once again showed how it "rides roughshod over international standards", Amnesty International said today, questioning the secretive court's ability to dispense justice.

"The death sentence given to Kulbushan Jadhav shows yet again how Pakistan's military court system rides roughshod over international standards," Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director, Amnesty International, said in response to Pakistan military court sentencing Jadhav to death for alleged spying.

"Stripping defendants of their rights and operating in notorious secrecy, military courts do not dispense justice but travesty it. They are an inherently abusive system that are best left to deal with issues of military discipline, not any other crimes," Patnaik said in a statement.

Amnesty opposes the death penalty at all times and in all circumstances, regardless of who is accused, the crime, guilt or innocence, or the method of execution, he said.

A Pakistan military court sentenced Jadhav to death after he was convicted of "espionage and sabotage activities". The award of the death sentence to the 46-year-old former Naval officer at a court-martial was confirmed by Pakistan's army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa today.

The prominent rights group also noted that over 87 executions were recorded in Pakistan in 2016 and more than ver 360 death sentences were recorded in the country last year.

It said that over 6,000 people are known to be under death sentence at the end of 2016 in Pakistan, which is among the world's top 5 executioners.