Daily Times

Pakistan on Thursday said it is committed to implementing the July 17 verdict of International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding provision of consular access to Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Ayesha Farooqi told a weekly press briefing that Pakistan, in the spirit of upholding the ICJ decision, has twice granted consular access to Jadhav besides offering India a third time access to its national. She mentioned that the government had also moved Islamabad High Court to appoint a lawyer for Kulbhushan Jadhav in a bid to give him a fair chance of trial following his death sentence.

Serving Indian Navy Commander Jadhav was arrested from Balochistan in March 2016 and was given death sentence by Pakistan’s Field General Court Marshal on charges of terrorism and espionage on April 10, 2017. The ICJ in its final verdict, after it was approached by India, had rejected India’s plea to acquit, release and return Jadhav. However, it had asked Pakistan for an ‘effective review and reconsideration’ of the death sentence.

Farooqui said India, so far, has not yet responded to Pakistan’s offer of third consular access and also a meeting between Jadhav and his father.

The spokesperson said President-elect of United Nations General Assembly Ambassador Volkan Bozkir is arriving in Islamabad on Monday. On situation in Indian-held Kashmir, she said 353 days have passed since the illegal and unilateral actions taken by India to annex an internationally recognized disputed territory.

She said Pakistan’s position on Palestine is principled and remained the same. The spokesperson said Pakistan has invited Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah for a visit, the details of which will be released soon. She mentioned that on July 14, Afghan National Forces fired shells towards Pakistan and also shelled Mohmand and Bajaur again on July 15, causing loss of lives.