Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is filing the second counter rejoinder in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on July 17 in the case of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, Foreign Office Thursday said.

“Our team has prepared a comprehensive reply to Indian rejoinder, which will be filed on July 17,” Spokesman Dr Faisal said at a press briefing, adding that Pakistan had filed its first counter memorial before the ICJ on December 13 last year. Hearing of the case would start after completion of submissions from Pakistan and India, he remarked.

About reports of five Indian citizens arrested for carrying Uranium, the spokesman said Pakistan was deeply concerned over the incident and has already termed it a ‘very serious’ issue. He said the report was an indication of the sale of nuclear material in black market in India, which was a matter of grave concern for the entire international community.

About the second death anniversary of Kashmiri leader Burhan Wani marked on July 8, the spokesman said the struggle of the martyred youth was against the inhumane and treacherous Indian occupation of the valley. “Kashmir is the cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy and we maintain the same stance from 1948 to date,” he said, adding that Pakistan had been repeatedly demanding recognition of Kashmiris’ right to self-determination as enshrined in the relevant UNSC resolutions and called for a UN-mandated plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir.

About India’s response on the Office of United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Report on Kashmir, Dr Faisal said New Delhi in its exasperation was reacting to the report which vindicated its brutalities and atrocities in the occupied Kashmir since decades. He said Pakistan has called upon the international community to take cognizance of the human rights situation in the Held Kashmir as well as of the OHCHR report and immediately ask India to stop bloodshed in the valley.

The spokesman mentioned that Indian occupation forces killed eight Kashmiris including teenagers Andleeb Jan, 13, 11th grade student Ubaid Manzoor Lone, 10th grade student Tamsheel Khan, Shakir Khanday, 19, Irshad Lone, 22, and Sameer Sheikh in Kulgam, Shopian, Sopore and Kupwara areas during the last week. He expressed concerns over shifting of resistance leaders Aasiya Andrabi, Nahida Nasreen and Fehmeeda Sofi to India’s infamous Tihar jail wherein other detained political leaders including Shabbir Shah and Masarrat Alam Bhat were already languishing in inhumane conditions.

To a question about Afghanistan issue, the spokesman said Pakistan has urged upon all the factions of Taliban to consider reconciliation. “We believe that there is no military solution to the issue … only an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led strategy will work,” he said.

The spokesman said Pakistan supported all sides to renounce violence and mentioned that the country was already engaged with five working groups on Afghanistan.

About Pakistan’s relations with the United States, the spokesman said the dialogue between the two countries was in progress. He said the continuation of talks was reflective of the will of Pakistan and US to move forward. He expressed the hope that things would go in the right direction. Faisal also mentioned the recent Pakistani satellites launched with cooperation from China which would help with land mapping, urban and rural planning, water resource management and other socio-economic development aims. “The successful implementation of PRSS-1 and PakTES-1A projects has further strengthened the space cooperation between Pakistan and China,” he said.

Published in Daily Times, July 13^th 2018.