New Delhi: It was a diplomatic snub that came not a day too soon. Ministry of external affairs (MEA) joint secretary Deepak Mittal snubbed the Pakistani official at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) where the two countries were attending the proceedings in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, Monday.
Mittal avoided the handshake gesture by Pakistan’s AG Anwar Mansoor Khan before presenting oral arguments at the ICJ in The Hague when the latter tried to shake hands as a courtesy gesture.
While the two officials exchanged greetings before the hearing in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, Anwar Mansoor Khan reached out to Mittal to shake his hand but the latter folded his hands to greet him with a namaste.
The oral proceedings in the Kulbhushan Jadhav began Monday before the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Kulbhushan Jadhav, 48, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017. India moved the ICJ in May the same year against the verdict. Pakistan claims that its security forces arrested Kulbhushan Jadhav in the restive Balochistan province in 2016 after he reportedly entered from Iran. A 10-member bench of the ICJ on May 18, 2017, had restrained Pakistan from executing Kulbhushan Jadhav till adjudication of the case.
India has, however, maintained that Kulbhushan Jadhav was kidnapped in Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy. At the ICJ, India pointed out that the Pakistan story has always been strong on rhetoric and blurry on facts. It also said that Pakistan has provided no credible evidence to show Kulbhushan Jadhav’s involvement in any act.
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