Not amending Army Act; no deal with India on Kulbhushan Jadhav, says Pak

Pakistan on Thursday denied any deal with Indian government on Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017.

"The action on Kulbhushan will be taken as per the law. There will be no deal. Absolutely, no question about that," said Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Faisal in a weekly press briefing.

Earlier, there were reports about an amendment in the Pakistan Army Act to implement the International Court of Justice's condition to allow Kulbhushan to file an appeal in a civilian court.

However, the Pakistani military rejected such reports.

Kulbhushan's case is being tried in military courts and the Army Act forbids such individuals or groups from filing an appeal or seeking justice from a civilian court.

On July 17, the ICJ ordered Pakistan to grant consular access to Jadhav and also continued stay on his execution, as well as "effective" review of the death sentence.

During the press briefing, Faisal also talked about the Supreme Court's verdict in Babri Masjid-Ram janmbhoomi case.

"India's top court verdict poses a threat to other mosques in the country. We will continue to raise Babri Masjid issue on international platforms," he said.

Faisal said he has urged the Indian government to end Kashmir "lockdown" and restore Internet services.