Islamabad: Pakistan is committed to implementing the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, a senior Pakistani official said as the country’s delegation left Friday for the Hague for the verbal proceedings in the case that will commence at the world court from February 18 and continue till February 21.
Indian national 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.
A 10-member bench of the ICJ, May 18, 2017, had restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav till adjudication of the case.
Pakistan’s Attorney General Anwar Mansoor would lead the Pakistani delegation at the ICJ while director general South Asia Mohammad Faisal would lead the Foreign Office side, a senior official was quoted as saying by the ‘Dawn’.
The ICJ has set a timetable for the public hearing and Harish Salve, who represents India in the case, is expected to argue first, February 18.
The English Queen’s Counsel Khawar Qureshi will make submissions February 19 from Islamabad’s side. Then India will reply February 20 while Islamabad will make its closing submissions February 21, the daily said. It is expected that the ICJ’s decision may be delivered by the summer of 2019.
“We are fully prepared with our strongest evidence being the valid Indian passport recovered from Commander Jadhav with a Muslim name,” the official told the ‘Dawn’, adding that Pakistan was committed to implementing the decision, irrespective of what decision came from the ICJ.
Earlier Thursday in New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar declined to go into the details of the case as it is sub-judice.
Pakistan has claimed that its security forces arrested Jadhav from restive Balochistan province March 3, 2016 after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy. Jadhav’s sentencing had evoked a sharp reaction in India.
PTI
