ISLAMABAD: Criticising the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government for what it called keeping parliament in the dark over key national issues, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has alleged that efforts are being made to facilitate the escape of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death for espionage, from the country.

“We fear that like (former TTP spokesman) Ehsanullah Ehsan, Kulbhushan Jadhav will also be facilitated in fleeing the country,” said PPP information secretary Dr Nafisa Shah in a statement issued by the party’s media office here on Saturday.

Dr Shah expressed concern over the government’s move to keep the Kulbhushan Jadhav issue “secret” and for not taking parliament into confidence.

The PPP MNA said the “secret issuance” of a presidential ordinance for the benefit of the Indian spy had raised a number of questions over the government’s handling of the issue. She said had such an ordinance been issued by the PPP president or the prime minister, he would have been declared a “state enemy”. “(Prime Minister) Imran Khan cannot impose his decisions on parliament acting like a king,” she said.

Law ministry rejects allegation about Indian spy

Dr Shah said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was getting encouragement due to the “cowardice” of his counterpart in Pakistan.

The Pakistan government, through an ordinance issued in May, had allowed foreigners, their authorised representatives or consular officials of the mission of their country to seek a review by the high court of conviction and sentences awarded by a military court in instances in which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled about their rights under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 or they feel that they have been deprived of their rights under the convention.

The legislation titled “ICJ Review and Reconsideration Ordinance 2020” was promulgated on May 20. However, it came to be publicly known on July 8 when Islamabad invited New Delhi to file a review and reconsideration petition following refusal by Jadhav to do so.

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had also expressed concern over the ordinance and sought an explanation from the government over it.

“What is this secret Kulbhushan Jadhav ordinance introduced by our selected government without taking the country or parliament into confidence. Absolutely outrageous. We demand answers and accountability. Yet another reason why this PM must go,” he had tweeted on Friday.

Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested in Ma­rch 2016 from Balochistan. He was charged with spying. A military court convicted and sentenced him to death in April 2017.

PPP secretary general Nayyar Bokhari in a statement on Saturday termed the issuance of the ordinance by the PTI government a move to send a message of “goodwill gesture” towards Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He asked the nation to stay alert, alleging that Kulbhushan would soon be freed like former spokesman for Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Ehsanullah Ehsan.

Mr Bokhari, who had served as the Senate chairman, regretted that the government had turned the Presidency into an “ordinance factory” and thus made parliament redundant.

The statements from the PPP leaders came a day after Pakistan offered consular access to Indian spy Jadhav for the third time and the Foreign Office spokesperson told media persons that the offer for another consular meeting had been made to New Delhi as a goodwill gesture.

Speaking in the Senate on Friday, PPP’s parliamentary leader Sherry Rehman had sought to find out the status of former TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan as to “why is he not under anybody’s custody”?

In April 2017, the military had announced that Ehsan had surrendered himself to the security forces, but offered scant details about the circumstances surrounding his capture or any conditions involved.

Ehsan had reportedly escaped early this year. In an audio message released on Feb 6, he claimed that he had surrendered to the authorities “under an agreement”, but escaped after “Pakistan’s treacherous institutions imprisoned me, along with my children”.

Ms Rehman asked the government to share details of the entire episode and asked who had set Ehsan free.

Ministry rejects allegations

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Law and Justice, on the other hand, denied the allegations that secretly an ordinance with a view to giving reprieve to Kulbhushan Jadhav was promulgated by the federal government without taking the nation or parliament into confidence and with a mala fide intent.

“The allegations are baseless,” said the spokesman in a statement.

He explained that the ICJ gave its judgement on July 17 last year 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”.

In order to comply with such directives, he said, the ICJ (Review and Recon­sideration) Ordinance, 2020 was promulgated to provide an effective mechanism of review and reconsideration to Commander Jadhav, of Pakistan’s own choice.

Under Article 89 of the Constitution, it is the prerogative of the president to promulgate an ordinance and it was promulgated when parliament was not in session.

“Casting aspersions on the decision of the federal government to promulgate the ordinance in question reflects a poor understanding in respect to Pakistan’s delicate security issues and international obligations and is an attempt to confuse the public,” the statement said.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2020