HAGUE – Second round of hearing has started in the International Court ofJustice (ICJ) in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, who is on a death row inPakistan prison. In the starting of submission, India’s counsel HarishSalve took strong objection to Pakistan’s language in the court on Tuesday.
Harish Salve said that the section 36 of the Geneva convention comes intoplace in Jadhav’s case. Salve said that Pakistan cited the Avena case, butthat says that if a detainee is foreign national, consular access has to beprovided.
He also called out Pakistan’s effort to put Jadhav’s confession’ in ICJ.
Salve said a bilateral agreement doesn’t mean Article 36 of the Viennaconvention becomes non-existent.
In a rebuke to Pakistan, Salve said, ” Jadhav has become a pawn inPakistan’s tool to divert international scrutiny from itself”. He mentionedthe 26/11 case and questioned why the trial in that case hasn’t beencompleted so far. India also pointed out how the Kasav trial was held withall due procedures followed.
Jadhav, a retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by aPakistani military court on charges of “espionage and terrorism” after aclosed trial in April 2017. His sentencing evoked a sharp reaction in India.
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At the end of second day’s hearing, Pakistani Attorney General AnwarMansoor Khan requested to adjourn the hearing of Kulbhushan Jadhav till anew judge from his country is appointed to replace Tassaduq Hussain Jillani– the present ad-hoc judge from Pakistan at the ICJ.
He reportedly had suffered “cardiac arrest” during the hearing on Monday.The ICJ President Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf asked it to continue argument inthe absence of the ad-hoc judge. “I would like to ask you to read yourstatement if your statement is ready. We are ready to hear you and hearyour side,” the ICJ President told the Pakistani Attorney General.
The hearing in the Jadhav case opened on Monday amidst heightened tensionsbetween India and Pakistan in the wake of Pulwama terror attacks.
On Monday, India had highlighted that Jadhav was being used as a “pawn” byPakistan to build a narrative against New Delhi. While arguing the case onbehalf of India, former Indian Solicitor General Harish Salve urged the ICJto annul Jadhav’s death sentence as the verdict by a Pakistani militarycourt was based on a “farcical case”.
