ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government on Monday put a new law before parliament for approval that will allow an Indian convicted for spying in Pakistan to approach a high court for the review of the death penalty awarded him by a military court in 2017.
Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested in March 2016 in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, the site of a long-running conflict between security forces and separatists. He was convicted of planning espionage and sabotage and sentenced to death by a military tribunal the following year.
Pakistani opposition parties have criticized the government for “facilitating” Jadhav through the special law. The government says the new ordinance will effectively block India from going to the UN Security Council against Pakistan.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs, Babar Awan, presented the bill, called the International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance, 2020, before the National Assembly for approval.
“In no way has the national interest or security been compromised by the promulgation of this ordinance,” Awan told Pakistani media. “Therefore, the political hullaballoo is not justified or fair.”
India says Jadhav is innocent. Last year the World Court ordered Pakistan to review the death penalty for Jadhav.
On July 22, the Pakistan government approached the Islamabad High Court to appoint a legal representative for the Indian spy. According to the petition, Jadhav has refused to file a petition against his sentence.
The Indian spy cannot appoint a lawyer in Pakistan without India’s assistance, and Delhi is reluctant to avail the review facility under the ordinance, the petition said.
The government has thus asked the court to appoint a legal representative for Jadhav so that Pakistan can fulfil its responsibility to implementation the ICJ’s decision.
On July 17, Pakistan offered Jadhav consular access for a third time.
Pakistan authorities say Jadhav confessed to being ordered by India’s intelligence service to conduct espionage and sabotage in Balochistan, a province at the center of a $60 billion Chinese-backed “Belt and Road” development project.
In a transcript released by Pakistan of what it says is Jadhav’s confession, the former naval officer says disrupting the Chinese-funded projects was a main goal of his activities.
Pakistan tables new law to allow Indian spy to appeal death sentence in court
https://arab.news/wqesg
Pakistan tables new law to allow Indian spy to appeal death sentence in court
- Government says the new ordinance will effectively block India from going to UN Security Council against Pakistan
- Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested in March 2016 in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, sentenced to death in 2017
Peace can only prevail if Afghanistan renounces support for ‘terrorism’— Pakistan defense chief
- Pakistan’s chief of defense forces visits South Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan
- Pakistan says has killed 481 Afghan Taliban operatives since clashes began last Thursday
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir said on Wednesday that peace with Afghanistan can only prevail if Kabul renounces support for “terrorism” and “terrorist” organizations, the military’s media wing said as the two countries remain locked in conflict.
Fighting between the two neighbors, the worst in decades, broke out last Thursday night after Afghan forces attacked Pakistan’s military installations along their shared border. Afghanistan said its attacks were in response to earlier airstrikes by Pakistan against alleged militant hideouts in its country.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of sheltering militant outfits such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on its soil who have launched attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces in recent years. Kabul denies the allegations.
Munir visited Wana town in Pakistan’s South Waziristan district to review the security situation and troops’ operational preparedness at the Afghan border, the Pakistani military’s media wing said in a statement.
“The Field Marshal reiterated that peace could only prevail between both sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organizations,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The military chief said the use of Afghan soil by militant outfits to launch attacks against Pakistan was unacceptable, vowing that “all necessary measures” would be taken to neutralize cross-border threats.
During the visit, Munir was briefed by military commanders about ongoing intelligence-based operations and measures being taken by the military to manage the border with Afghanistan.
He was also briefed about “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq” or “Wrath for the Truth,” the name Pakistan has given to its military operation against Afghan forces, the ISPR said.
The Pakistani military chief spoke to troops deployed in the area, praising their vigilance, professional conduct and high morale, the ISPR said.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the military has killed 481 Taliban operatives, injured more than 690 and destroyed 226 Afghan checkposts since clashes began.
Arab News has been unable to verify claims by both sides about the damages they claim to have inflicted on each other.
Afghanistan has signaled it is open for dialogue but Pakistan rejected the offer, saying it would continue its military operations till its objectives were achieved.
Since the conflict began, diplomatic efforts have intensified with several countries, including global bodies such as the European Union and United Nations, urging restraint and calling for talks.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Ankara would help reinstate a ceasefire, the Turkish Presidency said on Tuesday, as other countries that had offered to mediate have since been hit by the conflict in the Gulf.
