Islamabad High Court on Monday adjourned the Kulbhushan Jadhav case till September 3. The court was to hear the plea submitted by the Pakistan government against Indian prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav’s sentence on Monday on the basis of the Presidential Ordinance that allows the review of a decision of the military court in a civilian court.
Speaking to the media in the court premises, Attorney General Khalid Javed Khan confirmed that the courts have allowed India to hire a lawyer, but not an Indian.
He said, “The court has said that if we want to change the lawyer or if the India government wants to engage a counsel themselves then they should be allowed to do that.”
To a question on whether if the Indian mission in Islamabad can engage an Indian lawyer or not, the Attorney General said, “Only Pakistani lawyers, those who are entitled to practice in Pakistan will be allowed. Indian legal representative is not an option for now. Let’s see who they engage.”
In a unilateral move, Pakistan filed the petition in the Islamabad High Court on July 22, seeking the 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.
