Pak approves review of Jadhav's conviction to avoid UNSC sanctions: Friend

Pakistan decided to approve the bill for review of Kulbhushan Jadhav's conviction to avoid sanctions from United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Jadhav's friend Arvind Singh said on Friday.

"I see it as positive news. They (Pakistan) also fear if they would not have approved the bill they could have got sanctions from the UNSC. Now, this has given us hope that things will happen in a structured way," Singh told ANI.

He also said that there will be a lot of repercussions if Pakistan will not act according to the verdict of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

"If they will not act according to the ICJ verdict there will be a lot of repercussions. The realisation of that itself has given us hope that thing will actually move in the right direction."

He further said this India has been very vocal about all the documents relating to the Kulbhushan Yadav and emphasised, "We need consular access which should be unconditional and unimpeded."

Arvind Singh's statement comes after Pakistan National Assembly's Standing Committee on Law and Justice approved the bill for review of Kulbhushan Jadhav's conviction on Wednesday.

Jadhav has been sentenced to death by a military court for espionage.

Pakistan claims that Jadhav was arrested from Balochistan in 2016 on charges of espionage. India has rejected Pakistan's allegations and said he was kidnapped from the Iranian port of Chabahar. In early 2017, a Pakistani military court sentenced him to death.

Federal Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem said that the bill to review the conviction of Jadhav has been introduced with the directives of the International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance, reported Dawn.

The ordinance allows Jadhav to file an appeal against his conviction in a high court.

Farogh warned that in case the bill was not adopted by Parliament, Pakistan could face sanctions for not complying with the ICJ's verdict. The law minister said that India could be filing a contempt petition against Pakistan in the ICJ by promulgating the said ordinance.

Recently, India had lashed out at Pakistan for failing to provide consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav.

The ICJ had upheld India's claim of the Pakistani regime committing the grievous violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations on several counts.