Kulbhushan Jadhav refused to file review plea: Pakistan

Lahore: Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav has refused to file a review petition and wants to proceed with his pending mercy petition, Pakistani media reported on Wednesday, adding that Islamabad has offered a second round of consular access to him.

"On 17 June, 2020, Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav was invited to file a petition for review and reconsideration of his sentence and conviction. Exercising his legal right, he refused to file a petition for review and reconsideration of his sentence and conviction," news agency ANI quoted the Pakistan Additional Attorney General as saying.

Jadhav, the 49-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of "espionage and terrorism" in April 2017. Weeks later, India approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and challenging the death sentence.

The Hague-based ICJ ruled last July that Pakistan must undertake an "effective review and reconsideration" of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav and also to grant consular access to India without further delay.

Pakistan claims that its security forces arrested Jadhav from the restive Balochistan province on March 3, 2016 after he reportedly entered from Iran.

However, India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy.