- The extensive rejoinder is Pakistan’s response to India’s plea to ICJ in April
- Indian Navy Commander Jadhav was convicted in 2016 by Pakistan Military Court
ISLAMABAD: A 400-page rejoinder from Pakistan on convicted Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav’s role in terrorism and subversive activities is scheduled to be submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Indian navy officer Commander Jadhav was working covertly for the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the country’s external intelligence arm equivalent to Pakistan’s military administered Inter-Services Intelligence. He was arrested by Pakistan’s security agencies in March 2016 in Baluchistan, during a counter-intelligence operation.
Although he was found guilty and sentenced to death by Pakistan’s military court, India obtained an order from the ICJ to halt the execution, pending a final decision.
Jadhav confessed to his harmful activities and ample evidence has been submitted by Islamabad to the ICJ.
However, New Delhi has said that he was a retired officer and had been kidnapped from Iran, and that he confessed under duress to fabricated charges.
The Indian Ministry for External Affairs has vowed to fight for his release. “India remains committed to make all possible efforts to secure and protect the rights of Shri Jadhav,” an earlier statement said.
On compassionate grounds, Islamabad allowed Jadhav’s mother and wife to meet him, a move which was described by the Foreign Office spokesman Dr. Muhammad Faisal as “historic because we don’t do this for spies.”
He said that it was the first time Pakistan had allowed such a meeting, adding that it was a goodwill gesture “to show that Pakistan wants peace.”
But the meeting sparked a new row between the two countries. The two women were forced to change attire and their shoes were removed amid security concerns. Jadhav’s wife was suspected of carrying a concealed microchip, Pakistan said in response to Indian outrage.
Jadhav’s arrest has frayed relations and the shoe incident further inflamed the situation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
Bilateral dialogue remains suspended, but both countries have resorted to informal communication to defuse potentially explosive situations, which could escalate matters to a point of no return over several issues that remain at an impasse.
Legal expert Sharafat Ali told Arab News: “The (world) court’s final decision on both parties that consented to the ICJ proceedings is binding, but the judgment’s implementation is at the discretion of the state.”