ISLAMABAD - A larger bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday observed that apparently, the government of India is reluctant to join these proceedings or avail the remedy provided under the International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance, 2020 in the matter related to the sentence death of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.
The special larger bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb conducted hearing of the government’s plea seeking appointment of a legal representative for Kulbhushan Jadhav for filing his review petition against his death sentence.
During the hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Javed Khan informed the court regarding the exchange of correspondence between the Indian Government and the Government of Pakistan.
The court observed, “Prima facie, it appears to us that the Government of India is reluctant to join these proceedings or to avail the remedy provided under the International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance, 2020.
It added that the bench was informed that the stance of Commander Kulbushan Sudhir Jadhav remained unchanged. “The Government of India has not made any attempt to approach this Court directly despite opportunities extended in this regard. We are mindful of the fact that rights of Commander Jadhav are involved in the matter before us. We are also conscious that it is an obligation of the Government of Pakistan to give effect to the judgment of the International Court of Justice.”
According to the court order, keeping in view the importance of the matter in hand, particularly when the right to life and right to fair trial of Commander Jadhav are involved, it is important to proceed with abundant caution.
During the court proceedings, the Attorney General drew the attention to paragraph 146 of the judgment of the International Court.
“In order to meet the ends of justice and ensure implementation of the judgment of the International Court in letter and spirit, it would be beneficial, if the learned Attorney General could assist us regarding the scope of the obligation of “providing effective review and reconsideration” and its modalities in the context of the principles and law expounded by the International Court,” said the IHC bench.
It further stated, “We also expect to be assisted regarding the interpretation of the expressions “an obligation of result” and “must be performed unconditionally”. We further expect the learned Attorney General and the amici curiae to assist us in ascertaining the obligations of the Government of Pakistan relating to implementation of the judgment of the International Court, if the Government of India continues to show reluctance in extending support to Commander Jadhav.”
Later, the court deferred the hearing November 11 for further proceedings in this matter.