Kulbhushan Jadhav case: IHC orders federal govt to contact India again

ISLAMABAD: To ensure implementation of the decision of International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Thursday directed the federal government to once again contact the Indian government in a case pertaining to the provision of lawyer to spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.

A larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah, and comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb, conducted hearing on a petition, filed by the Ministry of Law and Justice for appointment of a lawyer to contest the review decision case of Indian spy Jadhav.

During the hearing, Deputy Attorney General Syed Tayyab Shah appeared before the court and submitted that the attorney general could not attend the proceedings due to engagements in top court. On a query regarding the release of another Indian citizen after completing his sentence term, the deputy attorney general said that in both the cases only the Attorney General could respond. The CJ said that Indian citizen should be released once his sentence is completed.

To this deputy attorney general said that the prisoner Muhammad Ismail would also be released on Jan 22. Justice Amir Farooq said that the report was submitted about prisoner Muhammad Ismail, while the court had asked about another prisoner Jaspal. The DAG said that was the title of the case. There were five prisoners out of which four had been released including Jaspal and now only Mohammad Ismail, son of Ali Mohammad, was left who would be released on Jan 22. Justice Minallah said why they were giving date to release the prisoner. Make him free if he had already completed his prison term, he added.

CJ Athar Minallah questioned whether the Indian government was not interested in the second case, to which he the DAG stated that he had no instructions in Jadhav matter, adding that the AG would look into the matter. The court asked the federation to once again contact the Indian government and ask it whether it wanted to pursue the case or not. The court adjourned the case till February 3.