Pakistani military’s chief spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Wednesday that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had accepted Pakistan’s version on Kulbhushan Jadhav and rejected the Indian appeals.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday found that India’s submission pertaining to the acquittal and release of Kulbhushan Jadhav could not be upheld. According to the ICJ, the conviction and sentence of Kulbhushan Jadhav were not to be regarded as a violation of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention.
Speaking to a private media channel, the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) congratulated the nation on the rejection of both India’s appeal for the release of Jadhav and the annulment of the sentence given by the military court.
Gen Ghafoor said that it’s a success for Pakistan that its version was accepted in hearings which were convened on a short notice.
He said that India had raised five points in the ICJ and almost all of them were overturned by the International Court of Justice in its verdict.
“ICJ’s judgement to not release Jadhav is a big victory for Pakistan,” said the ISPR DG.
He said that ICJ has accepted the stance of Pakistan that Jadhav traveled to Pakistan on an Indian passport.
Separately, Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi termed it a victory for Pakistan and to clear up any confusion regarding the convicted spy’s custody said that he shall “remain in Pakistan” and be “treated in accordance with the laws” of the country.
“Commander Jadhav shall remain in Pakistan. He shall be treated in accordance with the laws of Pakistan. This is a victory for Pakistan,” he said.
International Lawyer and founder of Courting the Law, Taimoor Malik, in a series of tweets, provided a useful summation on the case, highlighting that the matter had been “left to Pakistani courts”.
Reema Omar, the International Legal Advisor for South Asia at the ICJ, noted that India’s appeal for Jadhav’s release and return was not granted by the Court.
“The Court has, however, rejected most of the remedies sought by India, including annulment of military court decision convicting Jadhav, his release and safe passage to India,” she wrote.
In response to Reema Omar’s tweet, Journalist Nasim Zehra said that the judgment acknowledges Pakistan’s position that Jadhav is a spy and while asking that a Pakistani court review the military court’s decision, it doesn’t quash the military court’s decision and safe passage to India.
Journalist Mubashir Zaidi gave a word of advice to those on “the other side of the border” on jumping the gun and celebrating too early. “All the experts across the border claiming #KalbushanJadhav sentence has been suspended should read this part of the judgment #Kalbhushan to reconsider their opinion as the ruling says otherwise,” he said.
Journalist Talat Hussain condensed the ICJ verdict down in the following few words, reminding readers to remember that however neutral the verdict, it is a defeat of sorts for India, as Pakistan shall effectively be reviewing the case “through its own means”.
“Delhi defeated. ICJ knocks out India’s major demands about #KulbhushanJadhav about his release and annulment of sentence, practically admits he is a spy, asks Pakistan for review sentence through its own means with consular access,” he said.
Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry congratulated the nation on “a great outcome”.
“Apparently news reports from Hague suggests that not only Indian case for acquittal, release, return stands rejected but apparently [International] Court also upheld Jurisdiction of [Military] Court in #Kalbhushan case. Indeed a great outcome. Congratulations to Pakistan legal team for putting up [a] great fight,” he tweeted.
Journalist Fahd Husain termed the ruling “not too bad for Pakistan” and “pretty bad for India”.
“ICJ verdict: (1) Jadhav will not be released (2) His sentence not overturned (3) His hanging stayed (4) He will get Consular access (5) His sentence to be reviewed. Conclusion: Indian all pleas rejected except consular access. Not too bad for Pakistan. Pretty bad for India,” he wrote.
