LAHORE :International Court of Justice (ICJ) will decide the fate of Indian spy Kulbhushan Yadav case by announcing a verdict today (July 17) in The Hague, Netherlands whereas Pakistani team has reached the destination.
Pakistani team headed by the attorney general has reached The Hague to hear the verdict. The team also includes Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal. According to sources, the verdict will be announced at 7pm, as per PKT.
On July 12, Dr Muhammad Faisal said Pakistan fought the legal battle in Indian spy Kulbhushan Yadav case very well and hoped that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will issue judgment in Islamabad’s favor.
The FO spokesperson said Pakistan will accept the court ruling, and consultations will be made with lawyers regarding the procedure of implementation after the verdict. India could not present any evidence regarding Kulbhushan Yadav, he added.
Dr Muhammad Faisal further told that the complete schedule of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to the United States will be issued soon.
Good relations with Washington are in Pakistan’s interest and contracts which will be signed in the USA will benefit common people.
Pakistan has presented evidence obtained from Commander Jadhav after his arrest, and during the criminal process leading to his conviction as amply demonstrating his activities in fomenting terrorism and engaging in espionage in Pakistan.
Pakistan will make its closing submissions on Thursday and it is expected that the ICJ decision will be delivered by the summer this year.
The ICJ has repeatedly stated that it is not a Criminal Court of Appeal and effective review of a conviction is available before the domestic Courts.
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,” Vikas Swarup, then spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, had claimed.
On April 10, Army Chief, 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. On April 10 2017, Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Field General Court Martial in Pakistan.
On May 18 2017, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) stayed the execution pending the final judgment on the case.
