ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Thursday said that its case was “very strong” inthe ICJ on the conviction of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav who wassentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionageand terrorism.India had moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ) inMay last year after Jadhav, 48, was sentenced to death.
A 10-member bench of the ICJ on May 18, 2017 had restrained Pakistan fromexecuting Jadhav till adjudication of the case. In its written pleadings,India had accused Pakistan of violating the Vienna Convention by not givingconsular access to Jadhav arguing that the convention did not say that suchaccess would not be available to an individual arrested on espionagecharges. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said at hisweekly briefing that the submissions of both sides in the ICJ havecompleted and now the formal hearing will begin.
His comments came two days after Pakistan filed its second written reply toIndia’s arguments in the ICJ in the case. “Our case against India,regarding Jadhav, at the ICJ is very strong. He was caught red-handed onour soil, being involved in espionage, subversive and terroristactivities,” Faisal claimed. He said Pakistan dealt with the case in atransparent manner but India was “unable or unwilling” to provide answersto many key questions regarding Jadhav, including a different name of hispassport.
Pakistan claims that its security forces arrested Jadhav from restiveBalochistan prov ince on March 3, 2016 after he reportedly entered fromIran. However, India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where hehad business interests after retiring from the Navy. Jadhav’s sentencinghad evoked a sharp reaction in India. Speaking about Kashmir, he said thatthe report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has”greatly upset the Indian efforts to project that all is well” in Kashmir.