Pakistan prevents Indian officials from taking Kulbhushan's consent for review petition

Pakistan on Thursday allowed officials of the High Commission of India in Islamabad to meet Kulbhushan Jadhav, but prevented them from obtaining his consent to arrange lawyers to file a petition in the High Court, seeking review of the death sentence awarded to him by a military tribunal in the neighbouring country in April 2017.

Jadhav just has four days left to file the review petition in the Islamabad High Court. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his family and apprised of the outcome of the meeting between him and the officials of the High Commission of India in Islamabad.

Islamabad reneged on its promise to New Delhi to grant the officials of the High Commission of India (HCI) “unimpeded, unhindered and unconditional” consular access to the former Indian Navy officers. The officials of the Pakistan Government were present with “intimidating demeanour” during the meeting, contrary to the assurances Islamabad had earlier given to New Delhi. The meeting was also being recorded, although New Delhi had demanded that Islamabad should ensure that it should be held “in an atmosphere free from fear of retribution”, Anurag Srivastava, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said.

The HCI officials also found the former Indian Navy officer, who has been in the custody of Pakistan Army at least since March 3, 2016, “visibly under stress”. He, himself, also indicated it clearly during the meeting.

“The arrangements did not permit a free conversation between them. The consular officers (of the HCI in Islamabad) could not engage him (Jadhav) on his legal rights and were prevented from obtaining his written consent for arranging his legal representation,” said the MEA spokesperson. “In the light of these circumstances, the Indian consular officers came to the conclusion that the consular access being offered by Pakistan was neither meaningful nor credible. After lodging a protest, they left the venue.”

Pakistan on May 20 last promulgated an ordinance called the “International Court of Justice Review and Reconsideration Ordinance 2020”, which mandated that a petition for review and reconsideration of conviction by military tribunal could be made to Islamabad High Court through an application within 60 days from the day it was brought into force. The petition could be filed by Jadav, himself, a legally authorised representative of him or a consular officer of the High Commission of India in Islamabad.

The officials of the Pakistan Government had last week claimed that Jadhav had decided against seeking review of the death-sentence awarded to him. New Delhi had then accused the neighbouring country’s government of coercing him to forgo his legal rights.

Jadhav is currently on the death row as a military court in the neighbouring country awarded him capital punishment on April 10, 2017. He was accused and convicted of being involved in espionage and sabotage in Pakistan on behalf of an external intelligence agency of India.

New Delhi moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which on July 17, 2019, concluded that Islamabad had violated the Article 36 of the Vienna Convention of Consular Relations 1963, as it had not informed the Government of India immediately after the Pakistan Army had taken him into custody. The international court found that Pakistan had also flouted the Vienna Convention by declining India's repeated requests for allowing officials of its High Commission in Islamabad to meet him and arrange lawyers to defend him. It also stated that the death sentence awarded to Jadhav by a military court of Pakistan in April 2017 should remain suspended till the review of the conviction. It, however, left it to Pakistan Government to choose the means of reviewing the case and thus rejected New Delhi's argument that Islamabad should be asked to conduct the re-trial in a civilian court of Pakistan.

This was the second time Pakistan allowed officials of the High Commission of India in its capital to meet Jadhav. It had earlier on September 2, 2019 allowed India's Deputy High Commissioner to Pakistan, Gaurav Ahluwalia, to meet him. New Delhi had later alleged that Ahluwalia had found Jadhav “under extreme pressure” to “parrot a false narrative”.