Pakistan on Thursday said former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav “will remain alive” until he has exhausted his clemency appeals, reported PTI. Jadhav was given the death penalty on on charges of terror activities and spying.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said there were “certain misrepresentations/false statements” made in the Indian media following the International Court of Justice’s May 18 order in the case. He said Jadhav will not be executed until he has exhausted his rightful mercy appeals, with the Chief of the Army Staff and later with the Pakistan President.
Zakaria accused the Indian media and the government of creating a “false impression” of winning the case in the ICJ. On May 18, the court had stayed Jadhav’s hanging till the hearings in the case were completed.
On Wednesday it was reported that Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali will lead the Pakistani team at the next meeting of “agents” in the case at the Hague. On June 8, India and Pakistan are expected to discuss dates for next hearings and the submission of documents related to the case.
Indian had taken the case to the ICJ, saying Pakistan had refused to give them consular access to Jadhav, who was arrested in March 2016. The first hearing in the case took place on May 18, during which the court stayed Jadhav’s execution. It had also asked Pakistan to grant India consular access to Jadhav, which has not been done yet. Although the ICJ’s stay on Jadhav’s execution came as a relief to India, Pakistan has maintained that the UN has no jurisdiction in the case, even while saying that the order is not final.
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