Only a Pakistani can represent Kulbhushan Jadhav in court, insists Islamabad

During the consular access given to India on September 2, 2019, a power of attorney was signed by Kulbhushan Jadhav under which he has allowed the Indian high commission in Islamabad to represent him for further legal recourse.

Even as Pakistan is in the process of taking further legal steps in Kulbhushan Jadhav, Islamabad has  told the Indian side that only a Pakistani can represent him in a court. 

During the consular access given to India on September 2, 2019, a power of attorney was signed by Jadhav under which he has allowed the Indian high commission in Islamabad to represent him for further legal recourse.  

In a tweet last month, the Pakistani army said, "various legal options for review and reconsideration" for Kulbhushan Jadhav are being considered and "final status shall be shared in due course of time".

The Pakistani army also dismissed reports of amendment in Pakistan Army Act so that Jadhav can appeal in a civil court on the military court's order. Incidentally, Pakistan government sources had initially claimed that the process of amendment is being considered.

Last week, Ministry of External Affairs had said that "some communication which is going on India and Pakistan on this issue" and India is in touch with Pakistani side via diplomatic channels with New Delhi requesting for "immediate, effective and unhindered" consular access.

Earlier this year, India got a major diplomatic victory at the International Court of Justice after the Hague-based court had ordered Pakstan to provide New Delhi consular access to Jadhav under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

The Indian government got access on September 2 with Indian High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia meeting Jadhav for 2 hours. The Indian diplomat found Jadhav under "extreme pressure to parrot a false narrative to bolster Pakistan’s untenable claims", according to release issued by India's Ministry of external affairs.

India maintains that Jadhav was abducted by Pakistani agencies from Iran and New Delhi was first informed about his custody by Pakistani authorities on March 25, 2016, after which in 2017, Islamabad announced that a military court has awarded death sentence to him.