Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Wednesday said that Pakistan is reviewing India's petition for Kulbhushan Jadhav case in International Court for Justice (ICJ). Talking to journalists here, he said that Foreign Office will issue a statement on the Jhadav case in next few days. "We're analysing the Indian petition and ICJ's authority [on the case]," he added.
According to a statement issued on May 09 from Hague-based ICJ, India requested the United Nations' judicial organ to provide relief "by way of immediate suspension of the sentence of death awarded to the accused." "Afghan President Ashraf Ghani did not set the condition for a third party to the Pak-Afghan discussions," Aziz said. He stated that the Pak-Afghan border is partially opened for patients.
"The National Directorate of Security (NDS) and political leadership are expected to visit Pakistan after Eid," he said. "The situation between the two countries is expected to improve following the meeting." The adviser further added that Daesh slowed down the process of peace establishment in Afghanistan. "We have one stance that Pakistan's peace is directly dependent on that of Afghanistan," he stressed, adding that the nation despite being a victim of terrorism itself has always been sincere in its efforts to maintain peaceful ties with its neighbours.
Aziz mentioned how border management with Afghanistan is a pertinent issue, considering the close linkages between the two countries. "Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad was also started to fight and eliminate terrorists. [Now] the incumbent Afghan administration also needs to conduct operations to eliminate Daesh and Taliban," he said while commenting on efforts initiated by the two nations.
He said that all acts of terrorism in the recent past were planned in Afghanistan. Aziz went on to highlight Pakistan's supportive efforts towards Afghanistan, which has been provided financial aid worth $500 million. "A visa process has been commenced for the Afghan refugees in Pakistan; we also awarded scholarships to Afghan students," he commented.
In addition, a transit trade meeting with Afghanistan will be held soon, Aziz added.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in a tweet has termed the Indian move an attempt to divert attention from its role in fomenting terrorism in Pakistan. "Indian letter to ICJ attempts to divert attention from state-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan," Asif tweeted on Wednesday. "The Indian spy was convicted of offences against Pakistan's national security," he added. A special military court in Pakistan sentenced Jadhav, a Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) operative, to death for conducting espionage and terrorist activities against the state. He was caught from Balochistan in March 2016.