Kulbhushan Jadhav case: Pakistan to appoint ad hoc for next hearing in ICJ

The ICJ has stayed Jadhav's death sentence after it observed that Pakistan had debnnied 16 consular access to the victim.

Islamabad, May 31: Pakistan has decided to appoint its ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice for the next hearing on a plea filed by India against the sentencing of alleged spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court.

An Express Tribune report said that Attorney General for Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali will be leading Pakistan's legal team at the next hearing of the case on June 8 at the United Nation court, which stayed Jadhav's execution on May 18.

Sources told the paper that the AGP informed the committee that Pakistan would appoint its ad hoc judge for the upcoming hearing and he would himself lead Pakistan's team at the ICJ.

The decisions were communicated on Tuesday in an in-camera meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security - chaired by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, the paper said.

The AGP briefed the meeting about the steps Pakistan is taking for its effective defence of the case at the ICJ.

In the parliamentary panel's meeting earlier on May 23, the committee had expressed outright dissatisfaction over Pakistan's legal strategy to deal with Jadhav's case at the ICJ.

It said the government's 'lack of preparation' had resulted in allowing New Delhi to get a provisional stay order against the military court's verdict, the paper quoted sources as saying.

Earlier in this week, Pakistan had claimed that Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, was providing 'crucial intelligence' about the recent terrorist attacks in the country. "Jadhav continues to provide crucial intelligence with regard to recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan," Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria told Dawn News in an interview.

However, Zakaria did not elaborate on the details of the intelligence being provided by Jadhav. The Hague-based ICJ stayed Jadhav's execution on May 18 but it has to decide the issue of jurisdiction in the case, Pakistani officials said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf told Dawn News that Pakistan had enough evidence to prove that Jadhav was a 'spy'. Ausaf said Pakistan has information on Jadhav that could not be disclosed due to security reasons.

"The evidence would only be presented before the ICJ once it resumes the hearing," he said.

Ausaf said the ICJ's 'procedural order' of May 18 was neither Pakistan's defeat nor India's success and emphasised that when the case re-starts, "Pakistan would be on solid ground to win".

Responding to a question regarding the constitution of a new legal team, Ausaf said that there were no plans to change the team. However, he said it would be 'expanded'. When asked why he did not represent Pakistan at the May 15 hearing at the ICJ, Ausaf claimed that he "knew prior to the judgement that the ICJ is going to announce the provisional order".

Jadhav, 46, in April was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of 'involvement in espionage and sabotage activities' against the country.

The ICJ on May 18 stayed the execution of Jadhav. The ruling triggered criticism of the Pakistan Foreign Office for its 'poor handling' and also for its choice of attorney Khawar Qureshi, who presented Pakistan's case before the ICJ.

OneIndia News ( With Agencies inputs)