ISLAMABAD: India on Wednesday concluded its second and final round of arguments in Kulbhushan Jadhav case at International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the third day of public hearing held at The Hague, the Netherlands.
At the Peace Palace – the seat of United Nations’ (UN) top Court, Indian Counsel Advocate Harish Salve presented the arguments in response to Pakistan’s stance submitted on Tuesday through English Queen’s Council Barrister Khawar Qureshi, who raised tough questions on Jadhav’s subversive activities and espionage.
During India’s final oral submissions, Advocate Harish Salve said that irrespective of whether or not Jadhav had an Indian passport, he would have been tried for espionage if he was actually involved in subversive activities.
Salve told the 15-member bench that India had repeatedly asked Pakistan for a copy of judgment convicting Jadhav.
He pointed out that Pakistan was relying on reports by the Indian press by quoting the articles of Karan Thapar and Praveen Swami, which he claimed were in contradiction with Pakistan’s First Information Report (FIR).
On death sentence to Jadhav announced by Pakistan’s military court, Salve said that domestic law could not be considered as a defence against a violation of international law of obligation.
Salve accused Pakistan of not conforming to the Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which he said required a nation arresting or detaining a foreign national to ensure his or her right of consular access.
Joint Secretary of India’s Ministry of External Affairs Deepak Mittal, in his concluding remarks, sought relief for Jadhav.
The Court did not accept Pakistan’s request to replace its Judge Ad hoc Justice Tassadduq Hussain Jilani who could not attend the hearing due to ill health and asked him to continue, saying that Jilani was earlier given all case files and would be given oral transcripts as well.
The Court adjourned the sitting till Thursday to hear Pakistan’s second and final round of submission.
The 15-member bench under the presidency of President Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf started its four-day consecutive public hearings on February 18. The case proceedings were throughout shown live from the courtroom and shared by ICJ’s website for a real-time update of the viewers worldwide, including the party states Pakistan and India.