The Islamabad High Court on Thursday constituted a two-member bench to hear a review petition filed by the Pakistan government in the case of Indian death-row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav, according to the Pakistani media.
The bench comprising Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah and his fellow judge Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb would take up the government plea on Monday, the Pakistani media, including the Geo News, reported. In a unilateral move, Pakistan filed the petition in the IHC on Jul 22, seeking appointment of a "legal representative" for Jadhav.
However, the main parties, including the government of India, were not consulted ahead of the filing of the application by the Ministry of Law and Justice under an ordinance which was enacted on May 20.
Under the ‘International Court of Justice Review and Reconsideration Ordinance 2020', which was enacted on May 20, a petition for the review of a military court's decision can be made to Islamabad High Court through an application within 60 days of its promulgation.
The ordinance was approved by the parliament this week. Jadhav, the 50-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017. India approached the ICJ against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and challenging the death sentence.
