Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled in favour of Pakistan in the case brought to the Court by the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), regarding ‘obligations concerning negotiations relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race and to nuclear disarmament’.

RMI had filed suits in the ICJ against all the nine states possessing nuclear weapons, a Foreign Office statement said on Wednesday. However, only Pakistan, India and the United Kingdom had been asked to respond to the RMI’s suits since these countries recognised the jurisdiction of the court for certain specific issues at the time of their ratification of the court’s statute.

In its comprehensive written response to the ICJ, the statement said, Pakistan had sought dismissal of the suit for lack of the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the RMI’s claims and the inadmissibility of its application.

Moreover, there was no dispute – let alone a legal dispute – that existed between the RMI and Pakistan so it lacked the requisite standing to institute the proceedings.

The court upheld the strong counter-arguments put forth by Pakistan. “The decision of the court is a vindication of Pakistan’s stance that its nuclear programme is a matter of its national defence and security which falls exclusively within its domestic jurisdiction,” the statement concluded.