Kulbhushan Jadhav case updates: ICJ hearing adjourned, India to present second round of arguments tomorrow

‘Jadhav case is a platform for India to engage in rhetoric’

Qureshi says, “India’s claim for ‘at least’ acquittal release of return is being misconceived, at worst made in bad faith in light of the court’s previous decisions

“This case is not about consular access. It has at, all material times, been political theatre, a platform for India to engage in rhetoric. It is an impermissible use of this court,” he says.

Pakistan presents concluding arguments

“The evidence before the court manifests abuse of rights, lack of good faith, illegality, lack of clean hands and misrepresentation,” Qureshi says while making his concluding arguments.

‘India approached ICJ hoping Pakistan wouldn’t appear’

Advocate Khanwar Qureshi ​said, “India came to this court demanding provision of measures without a hearing. India hoped that Pakistan wouldn’t appear, but it did. Why didn’t India notify Pakistan of a dispute?”

Kulbhushan’s confession ‘highly credible’, says Pakistan

Submitting his arguments for Pakistan, advocate Khanwar Qureshi ​said, “We have to thank India for wanting to help clarify law as to consequences of illegal conduct. But allegations of espionage are rare. Jadhav’s confession is highly credible. And the passport, we mustn’t forget. What is India’s explanation for his passport?”

Pakistan says India’s submissions devoid of substantive argument

India’s submissions are shamelessly devoid of substantive argument, says Pakistan lawyer Khawar Qureshi. “There’s flowery language in India’s submissions, but not much is substantive,” he said.

Hearing resumes in ICJ

Pakistan lawyer Khawar Qureshi continues his presentation. ICJ says Qureshi can go a little beyond 1 pm (17:30 pm IST) to present his arguments.

It’s India’s turn to respond tomorrow

The ICJ has set a timetable for the public hearing in the high-profile case from 18 to 21 February at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands.

While India argued on Monday and Pakistan responded to India’s arguments on Tuesday. India will reply on 20 February, while Islamabad will make its closing submissions on 21 February.

Earlier visuals of Anwar Mansoor Khan submitting his arguments

Anwar Mansoor Khan is the Attorney General of Pakistan.

Hearing adjourned for 15 minutes

India sponsored 2014 Peshawar school attack, Pakistan alleges 

Pakistan’s Khanwar Qureshi ​said, “The Indian petition in the ICJ is a clear example of traditional methods to downplay Pakistan. In 2014, we lost 140 children in army public school which was admittedly sponsored by India through Afghanistan.”

Pakistan says there is compelling evidence that India used Jadhav as agent of terror

“There is clear, compelling evidence that India used its agent (Jadhav) to create terror and destruction and wreak havoc in Pakistan,” Qureshi says.

India conducted its arguments in a ‘ridiculous’ manner, Qureshi says

The “failure to rebutt” the statement that the Indian government provided Jadhav with a passport with a wrong name “is a grave gap in India’s argument”, Qureshi says.

India has shown a lack of good faith throughout these proceedings, Pakistan says

India has failed to provide explanation for how Jadhav was able to travel in and out of India with a passport with a false name, Qureshi says.

Qureshi cites media reports by Praveen Swami, Chanda Nandi to support his arguments

“These journalists stand up for pluralism and secularism and are part of the India I respect. Their investigation reveals that the RAW had been planning a terrorist operation in Pakistan,” says Qureshi.

Neither the nature of the charges, nor the conduct of India is relevant, Pakistan says

Pakistan says, “Jadhav’s admission includes the following: That he was a serving officer due to retire in 2022.” Qureshi reiterates the questions demanded by Pakistan. “It is a pity that India attempts to block the truth every time.”

‘India invokes charges of propaganda when asked serious questions,’ says Pakistan

That Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran is ridiculous, says Pakistan. “India’s demand of release and return for Jadhav is a ‘modest’ claim,” Qureshi said with thinly veiled sarcasm.

He added, “I have had the honour and privilege to represent India in the past, but the incarnation of the country before this court is not one I recognise,” Qureshi says. These are proceedings lodged for political theatre and they should be dismissed, Pakistan says.

India did violence to the Vienna Convention and also to the language with a ’nonsensical’ interpretation, Pakistan says

Qureshi says India sitting on"a flimsy wall of lies" like “Humpty dumpty”.

India failed to answer serious and relevant questions on Monday, Advocate Khanwar Qureshi says

“India’s repeated reference to ‘propaganda’ on Monday is nothing but subterfuge. The truth must be told,” Pakistan’s advocate Khanwar Qureshi says.

‘Commander Jadhav’s activities are conducted at the behest of the Indian government,’ Pakistan says

Pakistan says that “the loss of thousands of lives due to Commander Jadhav’s actions is evidence of India’s policy on Pakistan.” The advocate added that India also regulary “violates” the Indus Waters Treaty.

Khan said, “Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on record to have said ‘using water as a weapon against Pakistan’.”

India is using Afghanistan as a front, Pakistan says

It is clear that India is using Afghanistan as another front for terrorism, “Pakistan has lost many civilians and security forces in fighting India-driven terrorism in the country,” the statement says.

‘Indian NSA Ajit Doval makes no secret of creating unrest in Pakistan’, the advocate says

The Indian petition to the ICJ is a common tradition of “mouthing praise to Buddha” while the “heart stores evil”, Khan says.

Kulbhushan Jadhav is a serving officer of the Indian Navy, Pakistan holds

Pakistan argues that India’s “brutal” RAW agency entered Pakistan to “create terrorism” in Balochistan and the Sindh province. “This much he has admitted before judges with the benefit of stringent safeguards,” Pakistan says.

Pakistan blames India of supporting terrorism

“Our neighbour India, chooses to destabilise and create hegemony over its neighbours by sending its trained spies to create chaos in those countries,” Pakistan says.

Hearing begins, Pakistan asked to read the statement

Pakistan delegation introduced to the court. Pakistan AG Anwar Khan provides brief overview of Pakistan’s submission in the case.

Indian advocate Harish Salve slams ‘opaque proceedings’ of Pakistani military courts

India on Monday tore through the “opaque proceedings” of Pakistani military courts which try civilians against the international norms. Advocate Harish Salve said the Pakistani judges, who tried Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, are not required to have judicial or legal training or even a law degree.

Indian diplomats ignore handshake by senior Pakistan officials at ICJ

Indian diplomats on Monday ignored the handshake gesture by senior Pakistani officials and instead greeted them with a ’namaste’ on the first day of the hearing in the Jadhav case at the ICJ.

Ahead of the hearing on Monday, Pakistan’s attorney general Anwar Mansoor Khan reached out to Deepak Mittal, Joint Secretary, the Ministry of External Affairs, to shake hand but he responded with a namaste.

Khan then extended his hand to Venu Rajamony, the Indian ambassador to the Netherlands, who was sitting next to Mittal. Rajamony too greeted him with a namaste.

Pakistan to seek adjournment in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case

Pakistan ad hoc judge did not attend the hearing on Monday, citing health problems. He is reportedly indisposed on Tuesday as well. Now CNN-New18 reports that Islamabad will use this as ground to move for adjournment of today’s hearing.

ICJ likely to deliver verdict by April-May 2019

The ICJ has set a timetable for public hearings from 18 to 21 February. It is expected that the ICJ decision may be delivered by the summer of 2019.

‘India has no answer for how justice will be done to thousands who were killed due to Jadhav’s activities,’ says Pakistan

Mohammad Faisal said India also did not show any document like pension book or bank statement to prove that Jadhav had retired from the Indian Navy.

He said India demanded “acquittal, release and return” of Jadhav but “it had no answer to the question that how justice will be done with thousands of people who were killed due to his sabotage and terrorist activities.”

‘Nothing new’ in India’s arguments, says Pakistan

Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal in a video message posted on social media said that Indian arguments had nothing new.

“There was nothing new in India’s argument on the issues which we raised, like our question about how he (Jadhav) got the passport with name of Hussain Mubarak Patel and how he travelled 17 times to India using that passport,” he said.

Pakistan asked India to answer six questions with regard to the case

On the official website of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a section titled ‘The Jadhav Case (India v Pakistan) – Updated Key Facts Sheet’ mentioned six “key points which India will need to answer”. These are also some of the arguments Pakistan is expected to raise during the hearing:

“India says Jadhav was an innocent Indian national who was kidnapped from Iran to make him confess to being an Indian RAW agent. India has failed to make good this allegation despite repeated requests for evidence that he was kidnapped. Why not?”

“India says Jadhav retired from the Indian Navy — India has failed to explain when/why he retired (he was only 47 years old when arrested). Why not?”

RECAP: India says Pakistan violated Vienna Convention in Jadhav’s case

While pointing to violations of the Vienna Convention, Salve said that Pakistan had also not complied with the provisions of the 2008 bilateral agreement with India. “Pakistan’s conduct doesn’t inspire confidence that Jadhav can get justice there. Pakistan has in custody an Indian national who has been publicly portrayed to be a terrorist and Indian agent creating unrest in Balochistan. Pakistan used Jadhav to build a narrative against India, a pawn to further their propaganda,” he told the court.

RECAP:  India urges ICJ to annul Jadhav’s death sentence

India on Monday urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to annul Kulbhushan Jadhav’s death sentence by a Pakistani military court and order his immediate release, saying the verdict based on a “farcical case” hopelessly fails to satisfy even the minimum standards of due process.

Tension between India and Pakistan over Pulwama attack continues

The four-day hearing in the Jadhav case opened on Monday at the ICJ headquarters in The Hague amidst heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following one of the worst terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group that killed at least 41 CRPF soldiers.

Pakistan to present arguments in Kulbhushan Jadhav case today

India presented its first set of arguments in the four-day-long hearing in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday. Pakistan’s advocates will be given the floor to make their arguments and rebuttals on Tuesday.

On Monday. Pakistan said that India did not provide answers to the key questions it raised at the ICJ in the case of Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court.