Kulbhushan Jadhav case: PM Imran hails ICJ’s verdict rejecting Indian plea

“Appreciate ICJ’s decision not to acquit, release & return Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav to India,” said Prime Minister Imran Khan.

By Web Desk
July 18, 2019

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday appreciated the verdict handed down by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejecting India’s request to ‘acquit, release and return’ Kulbhushan Jadhav.

The United Nations’ top court in its final verdict on Wednesday after two-year-long proceedings ruled an effective review and reconsideration of the sentence by Pakistan, by the means of its own choosing of legislation.

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“Appreciate ICJ’s decision not to acquit, release & return Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav to India,” said the prime minister.

“He is guilty of crimes against the people of Pakistan. Pakistan shall proceed further as per law,” he further added.

“The court notes that Pakistan acknowledges that the appropriate remedy in the present case would be effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence,” the ICJ verdict read, supporting Pakistan’s stance.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi termed the decision a “victory of Pakistan.”

“Commander Jadhav will remain in Pakistan and will be treated in accordance with the law of Pakistan,” he said in a tweet following the ICJ ruling.

The Hague-based court in response to India’s plea to release Jadhav and to facilitate his safe passage to India said, “It is not the conviction and sentence of Mr Jadhav, which are to be regarded as a violation of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention.”

The Court did not accept India’s contention that Jadhav was entitled to ‘restitutio in integrum’ (restoration to original position) and turned down its request to annul the decision of Pakistan’s military court.

Instead, it ruled that Pakistan ‘by the means of its own choosing’ could undergo an effective review and reconsideration of the sentence.

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