India / Want Indian lawyer to represent Kulbhushan in review plea: MEA

New Delhi: India wants Kulbhushan Jadhav to be represented by an Indian lawyer for filing a review petition against his death sentence in Pakistan, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said on Thursday.

“We are in touch with Pakistan through diplomatic channels. We believe, for a free and fair trial in keeping with the letter and spirit of ICJ judgment in Kulbhushan Jhadav case, we have asked that Jadhav be represented by an Indian lawyer,” Srivastava said during the ministry’s weekly briefing, reported news agency ANI.

“However, it is important that Pakistan needs to address the core issues; these issues involve the provision of relevant documents and providing unimpeded consular access to Jadhav,” he said.

Islamabad has said only Pakistani lawyers and those entitled to practice in the country can be appointed to represent Jadhav. Earlier this month, the Islamabad high court directed the Pakistan government to inform India to appoint a lawyer for Jadhav, 50, so that he could file a review petition against his conviction. The court also directed the Pakistan government to again inform Jadhav of his rights under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the ICJ’s order of 2019 staying his execution and calling for a review of his conviction.

The case will next come up with a larger bench of Islamabad high court again on September 3.

India has accused Pakistan of coercing Jadhav not to file a review petition and of not complying with the ICJ’s verdict. Jadhav was arrested by Pakistani security agencies in Balochistan in March 2016 and charged with involvement in spying. India rejected these allegations and said he was kidnapped by Pakistani operatives from the Iranian port of Chabahar, where he was running a business.