At ICJ, India demolishes Pak stand on Kulbhushan Jadhav
India exposed Pakistan’s true face as a rogue nation at a public hearing in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case.
India has sought suspension of the death sentence awarded to the former Indian naval officer by a Pakistani military court till the time the international court takes a final decision on Pakistan’s move.
The death sentence on Jadhav is in complete contraventional of international conventions and laws.
Monday saw India putting across its arguments fully backed with facts, legalities and precedents to save the life of its citizen. Kulbhushan Jadhav who’s on death row in Pakistan on trumpted up spying charges at The Hague.
India’s plea had essentially four components:
1. Suspend sentence of Pak military court through provisional measures
2. Process and order of sentencing to death be declared in contravention to Vienna convention & international law
3. ICJ has jurisdiction over the matter
4. India has strong prima facie case based on merit of Pakistan not following international convention & law
India also said that the ICJ hearing it’s petition a week after the filing shows the matter is grave. It thanked the Hague court for treating it urgently.
Legal luminary Harish Salve, arguing India’s case, gave pointers over how Pakistan violated international conventions, international laws and human rights while sentencing Jadhav to death.
India also informed the ICJ how Pakistan never gave any reason for denying consellor access despite 16 repeated requests. He also demolished all charges levelled against Jadhav by Pakistan saying he was tortured into making a doctored confession.
Further he said that the entire military court trial was farcical and even if Jadhav gets opportunity to appeal, proceedings will be conducted by a Pakistani 2-star general who is unlike to go against the endorsement of the death sentence by Pakistan’s four-star army chief.
He referred to Pakistani media reports that say the Lahore Bar Association has warned all its members that their licence to practice law will be scrapped if they take up Jadhav’s defence. Under such circumstances, Salve said, it is meaningless to expect justice.
India had filed it’s ICJ plea on the 8 May seeking justice for the 46-year-old former Naval officer. ICJ had directed Pakistan not to take any step which would render the international court taking up the matter meaningless.
Jadhav was arrested on spying charges on the 3rd of March last year although he had become a businessman after leaving the navy. His ordeal has already extended beyond 17 months. ICJ granting India’s plea will only be a well deserved reprieve the soldier and his country will have to battle on.
