Army Act tweak for Jadhav relief? Pak military says no

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan army rejected on Wednesday media reports that the government was considering an amendment to the military laws to pave the way for Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav to appeal against his death sentence in a civilian court.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director-general, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, dismissed reports on Wednesday evening regarding the amending of the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) as “incorrect”.

“Speculations (sic) for amendment in Pakistan Army Act to implement International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict regarding convicted Indian terrorist Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav are incorrect,” Maj Gen Ghafoor, the army’s spokesperson, said on Twitter.


“Various legal options for review and reconsideration of the case are being considered. Final status shall be shared in due course of time,” he added.

Ahead of Ghafoor’s tweet, local media reported that Islamabad was expected to amend the PAA to comply with the ICJ direction to let Jadhav file an appeal against the military court’s findings.

In its verdict in July this year, the Hague based ICJ had ruled that Jadhav be allowed consular access immediately and urged Pakistan to ensure “effective review and reconsideration of his conviction and sentence”.

While dismissing media reports about amending the PAA, the military spokesperson admitted that various legal options for review of Jadhav’s case were being considered. He, however, did not specify how Jadhav’s case would be reviewed without amending that PAA.

Jadhav, 49, according to Pakistan, is an Indian spy arrested on March 3, 2016 from Balochistan, a claim that has never been accepted by India.