India seeks release of its national lodged in Pakistan jail on charges of spying

Islamabad: India has approached a Pakistani court to seek the release of its national on completion of his five-year jail term for alleged spying. [caption id=“attachment_2985276” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] Rafiq Jutt from Gujarat was arrested in 2008 and tried under Section 59 of the Pakistan Army Act, which allows the military to try civilians for spying. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) took up the petition filed by the Indian High Commission on Thursday but it was returned due to technical objections raised by the registrar. A court official said that the registrar’s office said that power of attorney was not properly signed. It also objected that respondents were not clearly named in the petition. Advocate Malik Shahnawaz Noon, the petitioner’s counsel, told the media that he would re-file the petition after removing the anomalies pointed out by the registrar. He said that Jutt was awarded five-year imprisonment on 8 March, 2012. The sentence was completed on 7 March this year. The petition sought the release of Jutt as he completed his sentence, according to Noon. He said that Jutt was visiting Pakistan on a valid visa when he was arrested. Jutt was kept in different jails during his sentence period. Presently, he is lodged in Central Jail Karachi, Noon said.