Cannot 'prejudge' ICJ's decision in Kulbhushan Jadhav's case: Pakistan FO

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday said it cannot "prejudge" the decision of the International Court of Justice in the former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav's case on July 17. Jadhav, 48, a retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of "espionage and terrorism" after a closed trial in April 2017. His sentencing evoked a sharp reaction in India.

India moved the ICJ in May 2017 for the "egregious violation" of the provisions of the Vienna Convention by Pakistan by repeatedly denying New Delhi consular access to Jadhav. "We cannot prejudge the judgment," Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Muhammad Faisal said at his weekly news briefing. He, however, said that Pakistan has fully contested the case before the Hague-based ICJ.

The ICJ has announced, in a statement on July 4, that it will deliver on July 17 its judgment in the Jadhav case. "A public sitting will take place at 3 p.m. (local time) at the Peace Palace in The Hague, during which Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, President of the Court, will read the Court's decision," it said.

Pakistan claims that its security forces arrested Jadhav from restive Balochistan 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 Indian Navy.