New Delhi: India said on Thursday that it is committed to protecting the life of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is facing death sentence in Pakistan. The Ministry of External Affairs said this at a time when the High Court of Islamabad has constituted a two-member bench to hear the review petition in this case.
External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Shrivastava said in an online media briefing, “We are committed to safeguarding the life of Indian citizen Kulbhushan Jadhav. Srivastava was responding to questions from reporters in this regard regarding the news of setting up a bench by the Islamabad High Court to hear a review petition filed by the Government of Pakistan in the matter. A foreign ministry spokesman said, “We reserve our stand on the right to further treatment in this matter.” “
Significantly, India has been holding Pakistan in the dock for failing to provide unrestricted diplomatic access to Jadhav as per the judgment of the International Court of Justice. Srivastava said that Pakistan has closed all avenues to achieve an effective solution for India in this matter.
It is noteworthy that Pakistan has unilaterally filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court on July 22, demanding the appointment of a legal representative for Jadhav. However, the main parties, including the Government of India, were not consulted before filing a petition under the ordinance in force on 20 May.
