ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday filed its second counter-memorial in the Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague.

“Pakistan has submitted its second reply at ICJ today in the case of Indian spy and terrorist, Commander Jadhav,” Foreign Office spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal said here.

Dr Fareha Bugti, a Foreign Ministry official serving on the India desk, submitted the dossier at the ICJ. She was accompanied by Hague-based Pakistani diplomat Waseem Shahzad.

With the filing of the counter-memorial by Pakistan, the process of written submissions in the case by both parties (India and Pakistan) has completed, a diplomatic source said. The case is now ready for oral proceedings.

The voluminous 400-page written pleading submitted by Pakistan argues that the Vienna Convention is not applicable in the case of Jadhav, who is a commissioned officer in Indian Navy and was serving with spy agency RAW at the time of his capture in Pakistan in March 2016.

Jadhav was later sentenced to death in 2017 by a military tribunal for his involvement in espionage. His appeals against the conviction have been rejected by the military appellate court and the mercy petition is pending with Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa.

India had approached the ICJ against Pakistan for allegedly violating Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by denying consular access to Jadhav immediately after his capture. Pakistan had last December hosted Jadhav’s meeting with his wife and mother as a humanitarian gesture.

The court had soon after accepting the Indian petition held a single round of oral hearings following which the Pakistan government was restrained from executing Jadhav till its final verdict in the case. Two rounds of written submissions by both parties followed.

It is expected that the hearings would commence next year depending on the court’s calendar. The diplomatic source said the ICJ had already announced its schedule for this year. The source expected that the court could give its verdict next year at the end of oral submissions.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2018