Indian spy-terrorist Kulbhushan refuses to file review plea against death sentence

In the latest development in Indian spy-terrorist Kulbhushan Jadhav's case, Pakistan has said that the 49-year-old retired Indian navy officer, who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on espionage and terrorism charges in 2017, refused to file a review petition against his conviction, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday, Additional Attorney General Ahmed Irfan said that Kulbhushan Jadhav refused to file a petition and opted for his pending mercy plea. He also said that the Government of Pakistan has written to the Indian High Commission to file the review petition before the deadline.

Irfan further told the media that Pakistan allows review petitions within a certain period of time under the International Court of Justice Review and Reconsideration Ordinance, 2020 which was enacted in May this year.

"On June 17, we invited Jadhav to file a petition for the reconsideration of his conviction and offered him legal representation but he refused to file the petition and instead preferred to follow up on his pending mercy petition," the additional attorney general said.

He also said that Pakistan has offered India another consular access to Jadhav, facing the death sentence and will allow his father and wife to meet him. "In the first round, he met his mother and wife and now we have offered to let him meet his father and wife," he told reporters.

According to Pakistan, Jadhav was arrested from Balochistan on March 3, 2016 by its security forces. He entered the country from Iran and involved in espionage activities.