Pakistan on Wednesday said it will review the International Court of Justice’s jurisdiction, a day after The Hague court issued a stay order on former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav’s death sentence, Geo News reported. A Pakistani military court had sentenced Jadhav to death on espionage charges.
“We are analysing the Indian petition and the International Court of Justice’s authority [in the case],” Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said. The country’s Foreign Affairs Department is expected to issue a statement in a few days.
Islamabad had earlier accused New Delhi of resorting to diversionary tactics with its appeal to the ICJ against Jadhav’s execution. “Indian letter to the ICJ [is an] attempt to divert attention from state-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan,” Defence Minister Khawaja M Asif had said on social media. “Kulbhushan [was] convicted of offences against national security.”
The ICJ’’s ruling is binding on Pakistan, and the international court will take up the case again on May 15, lawyer Harish Salve told NDTV.
In its appeal to the international court, India had accused Pakistan of “egregious violations of the Vienna Convention on consular access”. New Delhi had pointed out “the extreme gravity and immediacy of the threat that authorities in Pakistan will execute an Indian citizen in violation of obligations Pakistan owes to India”. It had urged the court to deliver an order seeking provisional measures immediately, “without waiting for an oral hearing”.
Meanwhile, Iran has reportedly sought consular access to Jadhav. Iranian Council General Muhammad Rafi said his government would like to interrogate the former Navy officer. “No development has been made over the issue so far, and negotiations are under way,” said Rafi, according to India Today. Earlier, Iran had maintained that Jadhav could not be a spy.
While India has claimed that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran, Pakistan has maintained that he was arrested from Balochistan on March 3, 2016. Islamabad had accused him of having entered the country through Iran and helping Baloch separatists.
Jadhav was charged him terrorism, sabotage and violating the country’s Foreigner Act. After his arrest, the Pakistani Army had released what they claimed was a “confessional video”. So far, Islamabad has denied New Delhi consular access to Jadhav 16 times. India had denied all claims that he was involved with the government in any way.
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