The case of convicted Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav may take another turn as India has submitted its initial pleadings, known as ‘memorial,’ to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the Indian media reported.
Ministry of External Affairs joint secretary V D Sharma had left New Delhi for the Netherlands on Tuesday night in order to hand over a hard copy of India’s memorial to the ICJ, it added.
On June 16 this year, the ICJ turned down India’s request to give it six months to file pleadings before the court in the case. Pakistan’s Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf had said that India had sought until December to file its pleadings but the court allowed it until September 13 to do so.
The ICJ also set December 13 as the deadline for Pakistan to submit its counter-pleadings in the case. It is pertinent to mention here that, on May 18, the ICJ ordered Pakistan to halt the execution of Jadhav, an on-duty Indian navy officer working for Indian spy agency and was arrested from Balochistan in March 2016, until a final decision in the proceedings.
“Pakistan shall take all measures at its disposal to ensure that Jadhav is not executed pending the final decision in these proceedings,” ordered Judge Ronny Abraham, president of the court, as he announced the decision.