Pakistan might change Army Act allowing Kulbhushan Jadhav to appeal
What's the story
Since 2016, Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav has been denied justice repeatedly by Pakistan. An army court had in 2017 sentenced him to death for espionage. But now, thanks to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict, Pakistan is planning to amend its Section 133 of Army Act which will let Jadhav appeal in a civilian court. India can also provide him legal aid.
Backstory
Context: ICJ asked Pakistan to give consular access to Jadhav
After New Delhi was denied consular access to Jadhav, it approached ICJ, the judicial body of the United Nations. In July, ICJ said Pakistan violated Vienna Convention by not letting Indian officials talk with him, and ordered to change it immediately. His death sentence was also suspended. In September, India was given access, but days later Pakistan said second consular access won't be given.
Amendments
Once amended, the Act will give time to convicts
Section 133 of the aforementioned Act says that a convict can only challenge his sentence in "Court of Appeals consisting of the Chief of the Army Staff". In simpler terms, a decision by a military court can't be challenged in civilian court. Once the Act is amended, it will give convicts six months' time to question the sentence.
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Thankfully, Jadhav has time on his hands
The six months which Jadhav might get will start from July 17, when ICJ ruled in India's favor by a vote of 15:1. To note, the death sentence was awarded to the former naval officer of India on April 10, 2017.
Consular access
Earlier, Pakistan didn't organize a "fair meeting" between India, Jadhav
While this development will surely be welcomed by New Delhi, it should be recalled that when consular access was provided for the first time, India wasn't satisfied. Indian official Gaurav Ahluwalia reported that Jadhav seemed under pressure from Pakistan to "parrot" their narrative. In fact, Pakistan also recorded the meeting for "transparency purposes" and India said the access provided was unfair.