ICJ reserves judgment on Kulbhushan Jadhav case

THE HAGUE (92 News) – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) reserved the verdict on the Kulbhushan Jadhav case after completing the hearing on Thursday. On the last day of the hearing, Pakistan counsel Khawar Qureshi presented the forceful arguments and stated that the fake passport and confessional statement of Kulbhushan Jadhav are enough to prove Kulbhushan a spy. He termed the allegations against Pakistan’s judicial system as baseless. Barrister Khawar Qureshi also declared the Indian legal team a hypocrite. “India has not even answered to any query of Pakistan.” He also criticized Adviser to the Indian PM on National Security Ajit Doval. “If Ajit Doval wants to play the role of James Bond, he should visit London,” he quipped. He said that Ajit Doval had confessed to having fomented terrorism in Pakistan. “The Indian adviser considers himself to be a super spy.” The Pakistan counsel argued that the Indian counsel had tried to divert the attention and mislead the court through his irrelevant conversation. “Earlier, the Indian counsel said that they made 18 attempts to get the consular access. Later, the number was told 40. India says that it is a case of the consular access, but it did not answer whether a spy can be given the consular access this way,” he contended. Khawar Qureshi stated that the Indian claim about annulling the military courts' sentences by the Peshawar High Court (PHC) as wrong. “During the last hearing, we have clarified that they have challenged the PHC decision in the Supreme Court,” he contended. The Pakistan counsel said that India did not give a reply about the passport of Kulbhushan Jadhav. “The Indian objections to the British experts’ report on the passport of Kulbhushan are baseless,” he stated. Concluding the arguments, Khawar Qureshi appealed to court to reject the Indian plea seeking relief for spy Kulbhushan Jadhav. Before the hearing, Pakistan’s Adhoc Judge Tasadduq Hussain Jillani took the oath of his office. He could not be part of the previous hearings due to his illness.