Pakistan to make final submission in Jadhav case at ICJ today

Earlier, India completed its arguments in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In its arguments, the Indian counsel relied on mere accusations. No reply was given in response to the fake passport of the Indian spy Kulbhushan Jhadav. Harish Salve, the Indian counsel who was perplexed by forceful arguments of Pakistan counsel Khawar Qureshi, admitted that a fake passport of Kulbhushan was made under the name of Mubarik Patel, saying that he cannot be given death sentence over it. He also backtracked from the statement about the transfer of his pension dues in the bank account. He demanded a relief from court, seeking the consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav. He appealed to court to send the matter to a civil court. On the other hand, the International Court of Justice, announcing the verdict on the India request to replace Adhoc Judge Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, declared him the part of the bench. According to court, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani participated in the proceedings of the court and transcripts are being sent to him. The court ruled that the video link is also available to him.

India argues Kulbhushan Jadhav is innocent businessman

On Monday, India had argued that Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav is an innocent businessman and he is entitled to obtain consular access. During the hearing, the court asked India to present their arguments on the case. However, India started arguments with blame game, accusing Pakistan of kidnapping Kulbhushan from Iran. His arguments centred around the Article 36 of the Vienna Convention. Meanwhile, in a video message, Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal had said that India could not submit any substantial material at International Court of Justice in their demand for acquittal of Kulbhushan Jadhav. He said the Indian side produced nothing new in their submission before the Court. The spokesperson said the India Spy is involved in killing of thousands of people. Earlier, Islamabad has presented evidence obtained from Commander Jadhav after his arrest, and during the criminal process leading to his conviction as amply demonstrating his activities in fomenting terrorism in Pakistan. Pakistan maintains that it would be incompatible with international law for someone sent as a spy/terrorist by a state to be afforded access to officials of that State, as India asserts. The ICJ has repeatedly stated that it is not a Criminal Court of Appeal and effective review of a conviction is available before the domestic Courts.

Case History

The hearings revolve around the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, an on-duty Indian navy officer working for the Indian covert agency Research & Analysis Wing (RAW). Jadhav was captured from Balochistan in March 2016. He later confessed to his association with RAW, and involvement in espionage and fomenting terrorism in Pakistan. The Indian spy was tried in a Pakistani military court, which sentenced him to death in April 2017 for espionage and subversive activities. Last week, Pakistan presented a fact sheet with evidence obtained from Jadhav after his arrest and during the criminal process. On May 18, 2018, the ICJ through an interim order stayed Jadhav’s execution until a final decision in the proceedings.