Right to appeal: Army Act to be amended for relief to Indian spy

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Isnaf (PTI) government has decided to amend the Army Act so as to allow Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav to appeal against his conviction on charges of espionage before a civilian court, Dunya News reported.

Jadhav of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was arrested from Balochistan three years ago. In 2017, he was convicted by a military court in Pakistan and sentenced to death on charges of espionage and terrorism.

The punishment was awarded by the Field General Court Martial (FGCM), a military court consisting of Pakistan Army officers.

While Jadhav had confessed to working for the covert agency to destabilise Pakistan, India had rejected the charges and maintained that he was a former Indian Navy officer “kidnapped by Pakistani forces”.

The Indian spy’s death sentence had later been challenged in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

After a long battle, the court, in its verdict, had rejected a number of Indian demands, including the annulment of the military court’s decision, Jadhav’s release and safe passage to India.

It had, however, directed Pakistan to provide appropriate remedies to the spy, such as providing him effective review and reconsideration of his conviction and sentences according to its own justice system.

The Army Act forbids any individuals or groups being tried in a military court from filing an appeal and seeking justice from a civilian court, but a special amendment is now reportedly being made for Jadhav.