India on Tuesday filed its second round of pleadings to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague regarding the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, the Indian national who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on alleged espionage charges.
A spokesperson of The Ministry of external affairs confirmed that “As per the Court order, India had filed written pleadings (Memorial) in the case on 13 September 2017 and Pakistan filed its Counter-Memorial on 13 December 2017. Today, India filed its Reply to Pakistan’s submissions to the Court. Pakistan has been given time till 17 July 2018 by the Court to file its response (Rejoinder).”
India first approached the Court on 8th May last year for egregious violation of the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963 by Pakistan in the matter.
The Court had on 18 May last year indicated provisional measures as requested by India and passed an order obligating Pakistan to not carry out the sentence that was awarded Jadhav through a farcical trial by the Military Court of Pakistan.
Pakistan claims that its security forces arrested Jadhav from restive Balochistan province on March 3, 2016, after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy. Jadhav’s sentencing had evoked a sharp reaction in India.
It is said that one of the most important pillars of any democracy is the media. Media acts as a watchdog, keeping an eye on and bringing the truth to the fore, unfortunately, a controversial publication ‘The Quint’, had earlier in its reports declared that Kulbushan Jadhav was an Indian spy. Opindia then had rebutted their fantasy story point by point and detailed why they should be ashamed of themselves.
The Ministry of External Affairs said India remains committed to making all possible efforts to “secure and protect” the rights of Jadhav.
