ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Foreign Office has said that Pakistan abides by all its international obligations, and this applies to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgment in the case of the Indian spy Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav.
In a statement on Saturday, the Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that we have seen the remarks of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ Spokesperson regarding the International Court of Justice (Review and Re-consideration) Bill passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan.
The Spokesperson said that it is regrettable that the Indian government has decided to misrepresent the ICJ judgment which clearly states in Paragraph 147 that, ‘Pakistan is under an obligation to provide, by means of its own choosing, effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence of Commander Jadhav’.
In line with Paragraph 146 of the ICJ judgment, Pakistan chose to provide Commander Jadhav the right of review and reconsideration by superior courts of Pakistan through the International Court of Justice (Review and Re-consideration) Ordinance, 2020.
The Spokesperson said that Pakistan’s commitment to uphold the ICJ judgment was again reflected by the passage of the ICJ (Review and Reconsideration) Bill for Review from the National Assembly.
The Judgement of the ICJ (Para 118) also requires India to act in good faith, and arrange legal representation for Commander Jadhav.
Chaudhri further said that regrettably, India has been engaging in a deliberate campaign to obfuscate the issue of the appointment of a lawyer. As a result, the government of Pakistan has had to initiate proceedings before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to request the Court to appoint a lawyer for Commander Jadhav. The Honourable Court has repeatedly invited India to clarify its position in this regard but India continues to deliberately politicize the issue.
The Foreign Office Spokesperson said that the Indian government’s refusal to avail itself of the legal remedies provided by Pakistan and such statements reveal their nefarious designs to undermine Pakistan’s efforts and discredit the ICJ judgment regarding Commander Jadhav.
