ICJ to announce verdict in Kulbhushan Jadhav case on July 17

THE HAGUE (92 News) – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will announce the verdict in the Indian spy and terrorist Kulbhushan Jadhav case on July 17. The ICJ registrar, in a letter, has informed the Attorney General and Foreign Office through the Pakistan mission in Holland. The court had reserved the verdict after hearing the arguments on February 22. The Pakistan’s legal team said that they were satisfied with regard the case. “We fought the case well and are hopeful of the victory of Pakistan,” they opined. On the last day of the hearing, Pakistan counsel Khawar Qureshi had 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.

Case History

Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested on March 3, 2016, from Balochistan on allegations of espionage and terrorism. During the trial at the military court, Jadhav confessed to his involvement in terrorist plots. On April 10, 2017, COAS Qamar Javed Bajwa had endorsed the death penalty for him after he confessed to his involvement in terrorist plots. However, the International Court of Justice ordered a stay in his execution. In June 2017, the Indian spy filed a mercy petition against the death penalty in which he confessed to his involvement in espionage and terrorism plots. Former chief justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani is also an ad hoc judge in this case. India’s Dalveer Bhandari, who is a permanent judge, is also a member of the bench. In five cases, the ICJ gave consular access to the applicant state but it’s the first case, wherein the ICJ will determine whether or not the spy should be given consular access.