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Kulbhushan Jadhav cannot be acquitted by world court: Pakistan diplomat

WION
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: May 20, 2017, 03:29 PM IST
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'Pakistan?s security is so important and we have to maintain our fundamental sovereign right,' The Nation reported Aziz as saying. Photograph:(Zee News Network)

Pakistan said they haven't lost the Indian spy case, days after the International Court of Justice asked Islamabad to not execute the accused until the final verdict is delivered.

The diplomate also reiterated Pakistan's stand that Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav cannot be acquitted by the tribunal and his punishment will be in accordance with domestic laws.

Sartaj Aziz, adviser to Pakistan's prime minister on foreign affairs, said: "If India thinks they have won the case, they are wrong."

“Wrong to say Pakistan lost at ICJ, court stayed execution, didn’t order on consular access to Jadhav,” Aziz said.

“There was paucity of time earlier, we will strengthen our legal team for the next time,” he added. 

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Aziz said that when it comes to cases involving the death penalty, the international court has always given a stay order.

The top diplomat claimed that Jadhav was not an ordinary Indian, he was “an officer in the Indian Navy who has also admitted to carrying out espionage activities in Pakistan.”

On May 18, the UN tribunal had asked Pakistan to not execute Kulbhushan Jadhav before they decide the case.

Earlier this year, a Pakistani military court had found Jadhav to be an Indian spy and had sentenced him to death --  verdict dubbed as "premeditated murder" by India.

A defiant New Delhi subsequently approached the world court, citing that Pakistan had denied them consular access, which contravenes Article 36 of the Vinenna Protocol.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains that he was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.

Jadhav was sentenced according to the laws of Pakistan after he admitted to entering the country on fake passport and involvement in terror activities, the top diplomat added.

Jadhav’s case is the latest flashpoint in the tensions between Pakistan and India.

(WION with inputs from agencies)