Pakistan informed the International Court of Justice on Thursday about its intent to appoint an ad hoc judge who will sit on the bench of the court during all proceedings relating to Indian citizen Kulbushan Sudhir Jadhav who has been awarded death penalty for spying in Pakistan.
On April 10, Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa confirmed the death sentence to the Indian RAW agent who had been arrested on March 3, 2016 through a counter-intelligence operation from Mashkel, Balochistan for his involvement in espionage and sabotage activities in Pakistan. India had approached the ICJ seeking the court's intervention for provisional measures for annulment of the death penalty.
On May 18 a copy of the ICJ's order regarding the matter available with the Business Recorder says Pakistan maintains that the ICJ has no prima facie jurisdiction to entertain India's request for provisional measures in the matter. The order says that "Pakistan also contends that Article 36, paragraph 1, of the Vienna Convention could not have been intended to apply to persons suspected of espionage or terrorism, and that there can therefore be no dispute relating to the interpretation or application of that instrument in the present case."
However, after hearing both parties in the matter, the ICJ stayed Jadhav's execution until the final adjudication of the case, saying: "Consequently, the court considers that it has prima facie jurisdiction under Article 1 of the Optional Protocol to entertain the dispute between the parties."
Meanwhile, Attorney General for Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali, in a statement issued from The Hague, said on Thursday that a meeting took place between the president of the ICJ, Ronny Abraham, and the delegations of India and Pakistan to discuss the timelines in the Jadhav's case. The registrar of the court and other court officials were also present in the meeting.
He said this was not a hearing and no discussion on the substance or merits of the case took place. The purpose of the meeting was only to discuss procedural matters including the timelines for submission of written memorials and to enable a hearing to be listed, he said.
The delegation of Pakistan was led by Ashtar Ausaf Ali. The other members of the delegation were Dr Mohammad Faisal, Director General for South Asia in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmad Irfan Aslam, head of the International Disputes Unit in the Office of the Attorney General, and Khawar Qureshi, counsel for Pakistan. The president of the court sought the views of the parties as to the time required for the submission of their written pleadings and supporting evidence, called memorials. The attorney general urged the court to adopt an expedited timetable for an early substantive hearing. The court will announce the timetable shortly, the statement said. According to the statement, the Indian application seeks "at least release or acquittal" of Jadhav. As was made clear by Pakistan's counsel, Khawar Qureshi, on May 15, India can never obtain this from the ICJ, the statement said.
On May 18 the court issued a procedural order to enable a full hearing to take place. It did not make any findings on jurisdiction or merits. Pakistan's arguments on jurisdiction and merits will be considered by the court at the full hearing, the statement said.
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