ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Friday categorically rejected any possibilityto allow a Queen’s Counsel by India to represent its spy Kulbhushan Jadhav,currently on a death-row in Pakistan.
“Allowing a Queen’s Counsel for Jadhav is out of question as only a lawyerwith license to practice in Pakistan can appear before the court,” ForeignOffice Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudri said at a press briefing here atthe Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
India has recently called for appointment of a Queen’s Counsel or an Indianlawyer in the case of serving navy Commander Jadhav pending with theIslamabad High Court for review and reconsideration following the verdictof International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Jadhav was arrested from Balochistan in 2016 and was handed over deathsentence by a military court after his confession of involvement interrorist activities. In Jadhav’s case in ICJ – the top judicial organ ofUnited Nations – the Queen’s Counsel, Khawar Qureshi and Harish Salve,represented Pakistan and India, respectively.
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A Queen’s Counsel is a barrister or advocate, appointed as Counsel to theUnited Kingdom’s Crown on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor.
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The FO Spokesperson said India was consistently making efforts to evade theJadhav case. Pakistan had already given “uninterrupted and unimpeded”consular access to Jadhav and was ready to extend the same in future aswell, he said.
Zahid Chaudri confirmed that Prime Minister Imran Khan would virtuallyaddress the United Nations General Assembly on September 25 with the issueof Jammu and Kashmir high on the agenda.
He said due to the restrictions imposed by the local government in NewYork, there would be no in-person high-level participation from outside. Hesaid Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi would also participate virtuallyin the high-level meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate the 75thAnniversary of the United Nations.
To a question on induction of five French-made Rafale fighter jets intoIndia Air Force, the FO Spokesperson termed the development “disturbing”where India continued to amass military capabilities beyond its genuinesecurity requirement.
