Pakistan to submit response to ICJ in Indian spy Kulbhushan case today

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will submit today its response to the International Court of Justice in the case of convicted Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.

Led by Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf a legal team pursuing the case has prepared the response, which, according to sources, outlines Jadhav’s subversive activities inside Pakistan, his trial by military court and subsequent conviction.

Pakistan had earlier nominated former chief justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani as an Ad hoc Judge in Kulbhushan Jadhav case.

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 Jadhav is a former officer of the Indian navy.

India then instituted proceedings against Pakistan at ICJ, accusing Pakistan of “egregious violations of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations” in the matter of the detention and trial of an Indian national, Mr. Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav.

India had contended that it was not informed of Mr. Jadhav’s detention until long after his arrest and that Pakistan failed to inform the accused of his rights. It further alleged that, in violation of the Vienna Convention, the authorities of Pakistan are denying India its right of consular access to Mr. Jadhav, despite its repeated requests.