Pakistan will not carry out the death sentence of Kulbhushan Jadhav, the former Naval officer convicted on terror charges, until the process in the International Court of Justice is over, even if that takes two to three years, Pakistan’s High Commissioner Abdul Basit has said
“We would like this process to be over quickly, but until [it does], we are committed,” he told The Hindu in an interview about India-Pakistan relations during his tenure which is due to end next month. India went to the ICJ at The Hague on May 8 this year to appeal against the death sentence handed to Mr. Jadhav. In the appeal India urged the court to call Pakistan’s military court trial against Mr. Jadhav, who was arrested in March 2016, “illegal” on the grounds that Pakistan had not granted India consular access, nor accepted his family’s appeals. The ICJ has set the next dates for India and Pakistan to present their written submissions, or ‘memorials’ on September 13 and December 13 respectively.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Confirming that Mr. Jadhav has some steps to go in the appeal process in Pakistan as well, Mr. Basit said he would be able to appeal for clemency first to Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa and President Mamnoon Husain if his appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeals. “So there is room for a rethink there.”
Speaking about the other trial, being watched closely in India, on Lashkar-e-Taiba chief and convicted Mumbai 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s detention, Mr. Basit said the Pakistan government was “trying its best” to keep Saeed under (house) arrest and several organisations he represents were under “observation” for now.