Kulbhushan Jadhav case: Pakistani delegation reaches The Hague
Pakistani team will be given a chance to present their case on February 20.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Ahead of the Kulbhushan Jadhav case hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) due on Feb 18, Pakistani delegation reached The Hague on Friday for oral arguments.
Attorney General Anwar Mansoor would lead the Pakistani delegation whereas Director General South Asia Dr Mohammad Faisal would lead the Foreign Office side.
An Indian team will present its arguments on the case from February 18, while the Pakistani team will be given a chance to present their case on February 20.
The diplomatic sources said that the Pakistani lawyers will submit their statement in response to India’s arguments on February 21. Attorney General and officials of Ministry of Law and Foreign Affairs will also attend the hearing.
Former chief justice Tasadduq Jillani will perform his duties as adhoc judge, while Pakistan will respect the decision of the International Court of Justice.
Sources said that the Indian has not yet provided evidence of Kulbhushan Jadhav’s retirement.
Also Read: India v Pakistan: Kulbhushan Jadhav case - key facts sheet
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will take up the case of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a military court on spying charges. “The ICJ will hear the case on daily basis for a week during February 19 to February 25, 2019.”
In July, Pakistan Foreign Office’s Director in India Dr Fareha Bugti had submitted the 400-page document as Pakistan’s second rejoinder to India’s last reply on April 17. The rejoinder was prepared by a team of experts led by Attorney General Khalid Javed Khan.
India had moved the ICJ in May 2017 after Jadhav, 48, was sentenced to death by a military court on charges of espionage. A 10-member bench of the international court on May 18 had restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav till adjudication of the case.
In an application filed in ICJ, India had termed the conviction as “egregious violations of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.” India states that it has been repeatedly denied consular access to Jadhav.
India had alleged that Pakistan arrested Jadhav in Iran and "was then shown to have been arrested in Baluchistan" on March 3, 2016. It claims that he was carrying out business in Iran after being retired from Indian Navy.
India had also alleged that they learnt of the arrest through a press release and were later notified on March 25, 2016.
Jadhav’s confession and trial
On April 11, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa had confirmed death sentence of Jadhav who was tried through Field General Court Martial (FGCM) under Pakistan Army Act (PAA). He was tried under section 59 of Pakistan Army Act (PAA) 1952 and Section III of official Secret Act of 1923.
FGCM found Kulbushan SudhirYadhav guilty of all the charges. He confessed before a Magistrate and the Court that he was tasked by RAW to plan, coordinate and organize espionage and sabotage activities aiming to destabilize and wage war against Pakistan by impeding the efforts of Law Enforcement Agencies for restoring peace in Balochistan and Karachi.
Jadhav alias Hussein Mubarak Patel was arrested on March 3, 2016 through a Counter Intelligence Operation from Mashkel, Balochistan.
In March last year, authorities released a video in which the Indian spy confessed to New Delhi’s alleged involvement in terrorist activities in Balochistan. He revealed that he had been directing various activities in Karachi and Balochistan "at the behest of RAW", the Indian intelligence agency, and that he was still with the Indian Navy.
Indian involvement in destabilising Pakistan
India has long had a history of fanning terrorism inside Pakistan by sponsoring terrorist outfits in Balochistan, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and Karachi.
Islamabad had said that the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav substantiates India’s continued involvement in subversive activities in Pakistan.
Earlier this year, Pakistan s permanent representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi handed over a dossier to United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres detailing evidence of Indian subversive activities within Pakistani territory.
The dossier contained Jadhav s confessional statement and related documents and evidence of Indian interference in Balochistan. Video evidence of an Indian Navy submarine sneaking into Pakistani waters on November 18, 2016 was also part of the dossier.
The dossier also included proof of contacts of Indian intelligence officials, working under diplomatic cover at Indian High Commission in Islamabad, with terrorists. Pakistan, in the dossier, urged the United Nations to prevent India from attempting to destabilise it.
Investigations after Jadhav s arrest last year had revealed that the undercover Indian agent s main agenda was to sabotage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through propaganda and to create disharmony among the Baloch nationalist political parties.
However, Jadhav was not the first RAW operative caught snooping in Pakistan. Prior to him, a good number of Indian spies had been spotted and hand-cuffed in Pakistan during the course of country s enmity with its neighbouring nation.
