Govt moves IHC for appointment of legal representative for Kulbhushan Jadhav

ISLAMABAD : The federal government on Wednesday has approached Islamabad High Court (IHC) for appointment of legal representative for Indian spy and agent of intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) Kulbhushan Jadhav. The petition, filed by the Federal Ministry of Law and Justice, stated that Kulbhushan, who was involved in several terrorist activities in Pakistan, has refused to file a plea against his sentence. The petition seeks the appointment of a legal representative for the Indian spy in the national interest so that he can file a review petition for his death sentence. Defence secretary and judge advocate general branch GHQ has been made party in the plea. Earlier on July 17, it was reported that Pakistan had decided to provide consular access to convicted Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav for a third time. The development comes a day after Islamabad granted second consular access to Jadhav. The sources relayed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had conveyed the decision to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad and is awaiting its response to the offer. Two consular officers of the Indian High Commission were provided unimpeded and uninterrupted consular access to Commander Jadhav at 3pm on Thursday, according to the Foreign Office. Jadhav has been in Pakistan’s custody following his arrest from Balochistan in a counter-intelligence operation on March 3, 2016. During investigation, he confessed to his involvement in terrorist activities inside Pakistan that resulted in the loss of many precious human lives. He also made important revelations about RAW’s role in sponsoring state terrorism in Pakistan.  Government arrested Jadhav alias Hussein Mubarak Patel in the province of Balochistan on charges of terrorism and spying for India‘s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). The government stated that he was a serving commander in the Indian Navy who was involved in subversive activities inside Pakistan and was arrested on March 3, 2016 during a counter-intelligence operation in Mashkel, Balochistan. The Indian government recognized Jadhav as a former naval officer but denied any current links with him and maintained that he took premature retirement and was abducted from Iran.