Pakistan says Indian 'spy' refused review of conviction

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan on Wednesday said it had offered India a second consular access to alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is on death row, in line with a 2019 International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling.

"Pakistan is committed to implementing the ICJ judgment in letter and spirit. We have already arranged a meeting between Kulbhushan Jadhav and his wife and mother. Pakistan has also offered [Indian High Commission in Islamabad] a second consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav," Additional Attorney General Ahmed Irfan told a press conference in the capital Islamabad.

He was accompanied by an official of the Foreign Ministry.

The ICJ in July 2019 ruled that Jadhav be treated under the Vienna Convention, asking Pakistan to provide him consular access and continue to stay his execution.

Jadhav -- who Pakistan says was a serving officer in the Indian Navy -- was arrested in 2016 in the town of Mashkel in the Balochistan province, a few miles from the border with Iran.

Allegedly disguised as Mubarak Hussein Patel, a Muslim, he was accused of running a spy network for the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's premier intelligence agency, from the Iranian port of Chabahar.

Video confessions of his spying were also released, which India claimed to have been recorded under duress.

A Pakistan military court sentenced him to death in April 2017 on espionage and terrorism charges. No date, however, was set for his execution, which would be by hanging.

Irfan said Pakistan's Constitution allows Jadhav to appeal the military court's judgment but, he added, the alleged Indian spy refused.

"In line with the ICJ ruling, Pakistan amended the law, and invited Kulbhushan Jadhav on June 17 to file a review petition in [the] Islamabad High Court for the review and reconsideration of his sentence and conviction. He instead preferred to follow up on his pending mercy petition," he said.

Pakistan, the attorney general said, had also repeatedly written to the Indian High Commission inviting it to file a review petition.

"Pakistan is fully cognizant of its international obligations. It is hoped, without playing politics with the issue, India will follow the due course and cooperate with courts in Pakistan," he said.

According to Pakistan's military, Jadhav confessed before the court to having been tasked to “plan, coordinate and organize espionage/sabotage activities aiming to destabilize and wage war against Pakistan by impeding the efforts of law enforcement agencies for restoring peace in Balochistan and Karachi.”

New Delhi denies Islamabad's charges, declaring Jadhav a retired naval officer who was “kidnapped" in Iran, where he was doing business but his presence in Pakistan was never explained credibly.

It had moved to the ICJ, which stayed the execution in May 2017 pending a final decision in the proceedings.