Pakistan Govt Rejects ICJ’s Verdict on Jadhav as India Celebrates

Pakistan’s Foreign Office said India has been “trying to hide its real face” by taking the case of Jadhav to ICJ.

(Photo: The Quint)

Pakistan does not accept the International Court of Justice's jurisdiction in matters related to national security, its Foreign Office said on Thursday, after the UN court stayed the execution of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav.

Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria also hit out at India, saying the country has been "trying to hide its real face" by taking the case of Jadhav to ICJ.

“The real face of India will be exposed before the world. Pakistan will present solid evidence against Kulbhushan Jadhav in the International Court,” he said, adding that Jadhav has confessed to his crimes of sabotage, terrorism and subversion activities not only once but twice.

"We do not accept the jurisdiction of the ICJ in matters related to the national security of the country," he was quoted as saying by the Dunya TV.

Also Read: Kulbhushan Jadhav Hearing: 3 Times ICJ Orders Fell on Deaf Ears

Earlier, Zakaria, at the weekly press briefing, said India was trying to portray Jadhav's case "as a humanitarian issue to divert the world's attention from his role in fomenting terrorism" inside Pakistan.

Pakistan's Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali also commented on the verdict saying:

India has no substance in the case — provisional measures have no bearing whatsoever on the Court’s final decision.

After 46-year-old Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav was sentenced to death in March by a Pakistani military court, India approached the highest UN judicial body with the plea to stay his execution.

The Hague-based ICJ heard the two sides on Monday, where Pakistan had challenged the jurisdiction of the court, but in its decision the court prima facie exercised the jurisdiction and accepted Indian pleas.

The court on Thursday instructed Pakistan to take all "necessary measures at its disposal" to ensure that Jadhav was not executed pending a final decision by it.