Jadhav case: Decision to be taken keeping national security in view, says Kh Asif
ICJ has only granted formal stay on the death sentence of Jadhav, the defence minister said.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Giving clear stance on Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said it is an issue of Pakistan’s national security and there will be no compromise on it.
During an interview, the minister stated that RAW agent was convicted after fulfilling all necessary legal procedures and any decision on this matter will be taken keeping in view the national security.
“ICJ has only granted formal stay on the death sentence of Jadhav,” he maintained.
READ: ICJ stays execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav
On Thursday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) stayed execution of RAW agent Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer sentenced to death for espionage and terrorist activities in Pakistan.
India had challenged Jadhav’s sentence last week, basing its arguments around what it says have been violations of the Vienna Convention’s rules on giving countries access to their citizens accused of crime on a foreign soil.
While presenting arguments, Pakistani counsel had informed ICJ that Jadhav, 46, was arrested in March last year in the restive Balochistan province. In April, a military court sentenced him to death for alleged involvement in spying and subversive activities.
Pakistan maintained that the ICJ need not intervene as it had adhered to a 2008 bilateral treaty with India that supersedes the Vienna pact by stating that the right to consular access can be waived where "national security" is at risk.
During the hearing, India’s lead attorney, former solicitor general Harish Salve said the country feared Jadhav could be executed even as his case was being heard by the ICJ. Pakistan, on the other hand, said there was “no urgency” in the matter.
Pakistan claims the Vienna Convention did not apply to a “spy” involved in terror activities and said India was using the world court as a stage for “political theatre”.
