Indian High Commission officials were provided consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav by Pakistan for the second time in the four years

After the Opposition in Pakistan accused the Imran Khan government of giving Kulbhushan Jadhav a way out, the country's Ministry of Law and Justice on Sunday denied the allegations calling them "baseless".

According to a Pakistan media report, the statement comes a day after Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari accused the Imran Khan government of promulgating an ordinance to facilitate Jadhav. It was alleged that an "Ordinance with a view to give reprieve to the Indian Commander Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav was secretly promulgated by the federal government, without taking the country or Parliament into confidence with a malafide intent".

In a press release, the Pakistan government explained that the Ordinance was brought in to comply with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgment and allowed review petition since Parliament was not in session.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Law and Justice in Pakistan said in a press release that the allegations are baseless and "it is clarified that the Government of India had initiated proceedings against Pakistan in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the matter of the detention and trial of an Indian national, Commander Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, who had been sentenced to death by a military court in Pakistan in April 2017."

"Kindly recall that Commander Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav was a RAW operative who facilitated numerous acts of terrorism in Pakistan which resulted in the killings of countless innocent citizens of Pakistan," the ministry said.

The ICJ gave its Judgment on July 17, 2019, wherein it observed that "Pakistan is under an obligation to provide, by means of its own choosing, effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence of Mr. Jadhav, so as to ensure that full weight is given to the effect of the violation of the rights set forth in Article 36 of the Vienna Convention, taking account of paragraphs 139, 145 and 146 of this Judgment", the ministry said in the release.

It further said: "In order to comply with the directions of the ICJ, the International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance, 2020 was promulgated to provide an effective mechanism of review and reconsideration to Commander Jadhav, of Pakistan's own choice."

The press release said that Pakistan's Constitution allows the president to promulgate any ordinance when Parliament is not in session.

Citing relevant sections under which the decision was taken, the ministry said: "Under Article 89 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, it is the prerogative of the President of Pakistan to promulgate an Ordinance when Parliament is not in session. The Ordinance was promulgated when the Parliament was not in session. Please note that casting aspersions on the decision of the Federal Government to promulgate the Ordinance in question reflects a poor understanding in respect of Pakistan's delicate security issues and international obligations and is an attempt to confuse the public."

In the past, "many Ordinances were issued by the then federal governments. The procedure followed with regard to the present Ordinance is no different so there is no question that the Ordinance was illegally or unlawfully promulgated", it said.

Recently, Pakistan offered consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav for the third time. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi offered consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav without the presence of Pakistani officials.

Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said, "We have formally offered India a third consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav. The formal note verbale was sent on Friday offering unhindered, uninterrupted consular access. We are awaiting India's response".

This development had come just a day after the Indian High Commission officials were provided consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav by Pakistan for the second time.