- FO says Indian claims of ‘victory’ in Jadhav’s case incorrect, misleading
Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria has said that the news of Indian ‘victory’ of Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is incorrect and misleading.
“We are prepared for the next hearing of the case,” he said during a weekly media briefing here on Thursday. “The order of ICJ is a provisional to stay the execution,” he added.
To a question regarding ceasefire violation by the Indian forces during the visit of the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) team, he said the team was mandated by the UN Security Council resolution. The observer team has prepared the report accordingly and submitted it to their head office, he said.
He said that the Jammu Kashmir issue was on the UN agenda for the last 70 years. Zakaria said that giving award to Major Leetul Gogoi, who brazenly used a Kashmiri youth as a human shield, was condemnable. “It is a crime and an insult to humanity,” he said. He said that the Amnesty International called awarding a move to condone human rights abuses in the state.
The spokesperson said the Indian forces were involved in acts of grave violence against civilians. “The Indian Army is criminal force in its behaviour against civilians,” he said. Since 2014, unprovoked ceasefire violations have increased significantly, taking toll on hundreds of innocent Kashmiris lives in Azad Jammu Kashmir and damaged their properties, he said.
He informed the journalists that there was heavy deployment of the Indian forces at and around the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar every Friday, to create an atmosphere of fear and harassment in the wake of the upcoming holy month of Ramazan. During the holy Islamic month, thousands of people from other districts and far off places travel to Srinagar to offer prayers in the grand masjid.
“We have already made our position very clear, however, the term of reference (TRO) are yet to be worked out,” he also said regarding Saudi Arabia military coalition. “We firmly believe in the unity among the Muslim countries,” he said.
Replying to another question regarding Pak-Afghan relations, he said the border management was actively engaged for sorting out the solution for opening of the border. Regarding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he said the project was part of the larger connectivity of One Belt One Road initiatives of China, which is of immense importance and holds a lot of potential for the region.
He said that a number of countries have expressed their interest for joining the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. “I don’t see any reason for any country to make it controversial,” he told a questioner about the mega corridor.