Pak amending Army Act to let Kulbhushan Jadhav appeal in civilian court

Pakistan is amending its Army Act to allow Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav the right to file an appeal in a civilian court in compliance with the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) verdict, sources told ARY News.

A special amendment is being made under the Army Act for Jadhav in view that the existing act forbade individuals or groups being tried under Military courts from filing an appeal and seeking justice from the civilian court, sources added.

In July this year, the ICJ, by a vote of 15-1 in the Jadhav case, upheld India's claim that Pakistan is in egregious violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations on several counts. The world court had ordered Islamabad to carry out an effective "review and reconsideration" of his conviction.

Jadhav was purportedly "arrested" from Balochistan by Pakistani security forces on March 3, 2016, after he allegedly entered the country from Iran as claimed by Islamabad. India has rejected Pakistan's allegations about Jadhav's involvement in spying and subversive activities and said he was kidnapped from the Iranian port of Chabahar where he was running a business.