ISLAMABAD – Foreign office said on Friday that the Indian government was looking for an escape from the legal proceedings in the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been awarded death sentence by a military court over terrorism activities in Pakistan.
The FO in a statement said that casting aspersions on the Indian High Commission’s own legal counsel exposed the aims of New Delhi.
“Pakistan categorically rejects incorrect and misleading assertions made by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) regarding the legal proceedings currently taking place in the case of Indian Naval Commander Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav,” said the FO in a statement.
The Government of India is reminded that in pursuance of the judgment of International Court of Justice (ICJ), Pakistan had invited the Indian High Commission to meet with Commander Jadhav and appoint a lawyer on his behalf so that proceedings to review and reconsider Commander Jadhav’s conviction could commence.
However, during the course of diplomatic exchanges, the Indian High Commission refused to instruct a lawyer itself, as in their view this would amount to a waiver of India’s sovereign immunity.
Resultantly, the government of Pakistan was constrained to initiate proceedings for appointment of a state counsel for Commander Jadhav.