No Right to Appeal for Jadhav, Only Diplomatic Access Allowed: Pakistan Defense Ministry

National News: During a hearing in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav once again came into the limelight. Indian citizen Jadhav was arrested in Pakistan in 2016 for espionage charges and in 2017 he was sentenced to death by a military court.

Now Pakistan's Defense Ministry counsel has clearly stated in the court that Jadhav was only given diplomatic access, but he was not given any right to legal appeal - and all this happened after the 2019 order of the International Court of Court (ICJ).

Why does Jadhav's issue raise in Supreme Court?

In fact, this question arose in the court when the Pakistani citizens involved in the violence after Imran Khan's arrest on 9 May 2023 were sentenced by military courts. Now that these people are demanding a review of their cases in the civil court, the court asked the government - was the same facility to Kulbhushan Jadhav?

On this, it was said on behalf of the Government of Pakistan that ICJ had asked only to give diplomatic access, there was no directive to appeal in the upper court.

What is violation of Veiana Convention & Pakistan?

The lawyer said that the ICJ had also admitted that Pakistan had violated Section 36 of the Viana Convention. This section says that if a citizen of a country is arrested in another country, then he has full right to contact the embassy of his country - which did not happen in the case of Jadhav.

Following the order of ICJ, Pakistan made some legal amendments to file a review petition for the decisions of military courts. But the truth is that Jadhav did not get any judicial appeal till date.

Who is Kulbhushan Jadhav?

Kulbhushan Jadhav is a former Indian Navy officer. Pakistan claims that he was an agent of RAW and was supporting separatist activities in Balochistan. India says that Jadhav went to Iran in connection with business, he was abducted from there.

Pakistan also released a video in which Jadhav seems to 'confess' that he used to work for RAW. But India had forcibly confessed this video.

What next ?

Now the question is arising in the Supreme Court of Pakistan that when a foreign national was not given the facility of appeal against the decision of the military court, how can this right be given to its citizens? This debate has raised serious questions about the role, transparency and civil rights of military and civil courts in Pakistan.