- Katju criticises India’s reaction over Jadhav issue
Former judge in India’s Supreme Court Markanday Katju on Saturday expressed his concerns over the repercussions that India might have to face due to its actions of involving the International Court of Justice in the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian Navy commander involved in subversive activities in different parts of Balochistan and Sindh province.
Katju, who is also a former chairman of the Press Council of India, in a Facebook post said that India had made a serious mistake by going to the International Court. He criticised the people ‘gloating’ over India’s ‘victory’ before the ICJ regarding Kulbhushan Jadhav.
“My own opinion is that it was a serious mistake for India to go to the ICJ on this issue, as we have played into Pakistan’s hands, and given it a handle to open up many other issues,” he wrote. He said that this was the reason Pakistan did not seriously object to the ICJ jurisdiction.
He said that it was certain that Pakistan would be approaching the International Court of Justice to decide the Kashmir issue and “it will then hardly lie in our mouth to object to the jurisdiction of ICJ since we cannot blow hot and cold together.”
Calling the ICJ jurisdiction a Pandora’s Box, he said that Pakistan must be happy that India went to the ICJ for a single man’s life as they could now raise a variety of issues, particularly about Kashmir in an international forum, something to which India has always objected.
Earlier this week, the International Court of Justice had announced its verdict in the Jadhav case and had ordered a stay on his execution. The Indian agent was arrested on March 3, 2016, through a counter-intelligence operation in Mashkel area of Balochistan for his involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan.
He was subsequently sentenced to death by a Field General Court Martial (FGCM) in April this year. India has termed the death sentence awarded to Jadhav an act of ‘premeditated murder.’ Jadhav’s video confession was made public in Pakistan.
Balochistan Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti had said that Jadhav was working for Indian spy agency and was in contact with separatists and terrorists fueling sectarian violence in the province and the country. During his interrogation, Jadhav gave details about his funding and plans to destabilise Pakistan, according to the authorities.