THE HAGUE/ISLAMABAD: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has fixed February 2019 to hear the case of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav arrested by Pakistan on charges of espionage and abetting terrorism, ARY News reported.
According to sources, hearing of the case will continue for a week in February next year. Pakistan and India have both filed two replies each in the case.
In July, Pakistan’s Foreign Office’s Director in India Dr Fareha Bugti had submitted the 400-page document as Pakistan’s second rejoinder to India’s last reply on April 17.
The rejoinder was prepared by a team of experts led by Attorney General Khalid Javed Khan.
India had moved the ICJ in May 2017 after Jadhav, 48, was sentenced to death by a military court on charges of espionage.
A 10-member bench of the international court on May 18 had restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav till adjudication of the case.
In its written plea, India had accused Pakistan of violation of the Vienna Convention by not giving consular access to his spy, arguing that the convention did not say that such access would not be available to an individual arrested on espionage charges.
In response, Pakistan through its counter-memorial on December 13 told the ICJ that the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963 applied only to legitimate visitors and did not cover clandestine operations.
Who is Kulbhushan Jadhav?
Pakistani security agencies on March 24, 2016 apprehended an ‘on-duty RAW agent’ from Balochistan. The suspect was said to be an officer of the Indian navy working for the covert agency to destabilize Pakistan.
The operative had contacts with banned organizations and was working on plans to break Karachi and Balochistan away from Pakistan, and to sabotage the billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
On March 25, a day after the arrest, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the Indian man arrested from Balochistan has no connection with the government, however, admitted that Kulbhushan Yadav is a former officer of the Indian navy.
“He (Jadhav) acquired premature retirement from the Indian navy and since then the government has nothing to do with him,” said Vikas Swarup, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, requesting Pakistan to grant counsellor access to the ‘arrested Indian citizen’.
On April 10, COAS, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa confirmed his death sentence awarded by Field General Court Martial (FGCM).
The spy was tried under Pakistan Army Act (PAA) and awarded death sentence.
He confessed before a Magistrate and the Court that he was tasked by RAW to plan, coordinate and organize espionage / sabotage activities aiming to destabilize and wage war against Pakistan by impeding the efforts of Law Enforcement Agencies for restoring peace in Balochistan and Karachi.
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