Received Kulbhushan Jadhav's Mother's Plea, Considering It, Says Pakistan

Islamabad: Pakistani authorities have received an appeal against the death sentence to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav from his mother, which is being considered, Sartaj Aziz, the adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said today.

Mr Jadhav's mother had filed a review petition on April 26 - a copy of which was hand delivered to Pakistan's Foreign Secretary by India's High Commissioner. Mr Jadhav had been sentenced to death last month after being convicted of spying by a military court in Pakistan in a trial that India termed "farcical".

On Thursday, the International Court of Justice or ICJ had asked Pakistan to stay the execution of Mr Jadhav until its final verdict in the case. The ruling of UN's top court has been viewed as a big win for India, which has accused Pakistan of violating an international treaty that guarantees rights of foreign convicts.

Speaking to reporters today on the ICJ order, Mr Aziz said the UN court had not asked Pakistan to give India consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav and only ordered to hold off his execution for now.

"It is wrong to say Pakistan lost at ICJ, court stayed execution, didn't order consular access to Jadhav," he said. 

Sartaj Aziz also blamed Pakistan's loss at the world court on "paucity of time", and said Pakistan will strengthen its legal team for the next time. 

Pakistan had argued before the ICJ that it does not have jurisdiction in the case as it was related to its national security; it had also insisted that a person convicted of terrorism cannot be granted consular access. That argument was rejected by the court, which said that Pakistan should have provided India consular access to Mr Jadhav.

Mr Jadhav, 46, was sentenced to death last month by a Pakistani military court on charges of "spying" and "terrorism". The former Navy officer was arrested by Pakistan last year. New Delhi says that he was kidnapped from Iran, where he ran a business.