IHC to hear govt’s plea for appointment today

ISLAMABAD: A larger bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) will resume hearing of the government’s plea for appointment of a counsel to represent Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.

The special larger bench of the IHC comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb will hear the government’s plea, in which the IHC had previously asked the federal government to offer India and convicted Indian spy Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav another opportunity to appoint a lawyer for filing his review petition against his death sentence.

The court officials have submitted in the court that the Indian consulate has not filed any reply in response to the offer to India for appointment of a lawyer for filing his review petition against his death sentence.

The court would resume its proceedings of this case at 2pm on Thursday (today).

The IHC bench had also appointed Abid Hassan Manto, Hamid Khan, senior advocates of the Supreme Court and former presidents of the Supreme Court Bar Association and Makhdoom Ali Khan, senior advocate Supreme Court and former attorney general of Pakistan as amici curiae for the legal assistance in general and, in particular, to ensure that the judgment of the International Court is effectively implemented.

The IHC in last order stated: “The Government of Pakistan shall once again inform Commander Jadhav regarding his rights under Article 36 of the Convention and the judgment of the International Court will also be brought to his attention. He shall be specifically informed regarding his right to avail the statutory remedy provided under the Ordinance of 2020 and to authorize the Government of India to arrange legal representation on his behalf.”

It added, “The Government of Pakistan shall communicate this order to the Government of India. Subject to the applicable laws, the latter shall be at liberty to make appropriate arrangements on behalf of Commander Jadhav in the context of the Convention, read with the statutory right made available under the Ordinance of 2020, so as to give effect to the judgment of the International Court.”—TERENCE J SIGAMONY