Pakistan Assembly panel approves bill for review of Kulbhushan Jadhav's conviction

Pakistan National Assembly's Standing Committee on Law and Justice approved the bill for review of Kulbhushan Jadhav's conviction on Wednesday.

The Indian has been sentenced to death by a military court for espionage.

Pakistan claims that Jadhav was arrested from Balochistan in 2016 on charges of espionage. India has rejected Pakistan's allegations and said he was kidnapped from the Iranian port of Chabahar. In early 2017, a Pakistani military court sentenced him to death.

Federal Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem said that the bill to review the conviction of Jadhav has been introduced with the directives of the International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance, reported Dawn.

The ordinance allows Jadhav to file an appeal against his conviction in a high court.

Farogh warned that in case the bill was not adopted by Parliament, Pakistan could face sanctions for not complying with the ICJ's verdict. The law minister said that India could be filing a contempt petition against Pakistan in the ICJ by promulgating the said ordinance.

Meanwhile, opposition parties like Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) have termed the bill an NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance).

NRO was introduced by former military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf to the-then exiled political leadership and under which accountability cases against the politicians were dropped.

Recently, India had lashed out at Pakistan for failing to provide consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav.

The ICJ had upheld India's claim of the Pakistani regime committing the grievous violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations on several counts.

(ANI)

Also Read: IS module case: NIA extends to Nov 2 judicial custody of Muhammad Polakkani