Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav has refused to appeal against his sentence, says additional Attorney General Ahmed Irfan on Wednesday.
Addressing a joint press conference with officials of Foreign Office of Pakistan, additional AG Ahmed Irfan revealed that Indian Navy officer and spy Kulbhushan Jadhav has refused to file a review petition against the death sentence awarded to him by Field General Court Martial (FGCM) in Pakistan.
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Hafeez Chaudhri – Director-General of South Asia and SAARC, also attended the press briefing and apprised the media Pakistan, in accordance with the International Court of Justice Review and Reconsideration Ordinance, 2020 had given Khulbhushan Jadhav the opportunity to appeal against his sentence.
According to details, Khulbhushan Jadhav was given the chance to file a petition against his sentence on June 17, and was also offered legal representation. However, he refused to file the review petition and intends to pursue the ‘mercy petition’ proceedings he had already filed earlier.
The Indian High Commission has been also approached multiple times on the issue, said the Pakistani officials.
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It is to be noted that Khulbhushan Jadhav aka Hussain Mubarak Patel was arrested inside Balochistan in Mashkel near the border region of Chaman on March 3, 2016, on charges of working for Indian intelligence agency RAW and being involved in various terrorism and espionage activities inside Pakistan.
On 10 April 2017, Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Field General Court Martial (FGCM) in Pakistan, following a confession before the magistrate and court. Jadhav’s trial lasted three and a half months and the charges he was convicted for included spying for India, waging war against Pakistan, sponsoring terrorism, and destabilizing the state.
Following the sentencing, India approached International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the case proceedings began in The Hague on 15 May. On 17 July 2019, the ICJ, in its verdict, rejected India’s appeal for Jadhav’s release and directed Pakistan to allow consular access and effectively review the death sentence.
