'Baffled' Pakistan refuses to accept ICJ's jurisdiction in Kulbhushan Jadhav case

NEW DLEHI: In a major boost to India, which has moved the UN's highest judicial body against the death sentence, the ICJ on Thursday instructed Pakistan to take all "necessary measures at its disposal" to ensure that Jadhav was not executed pending a final decision by it. However, Pakistan's foreign office said the country does not accept the International Court of Justice's jurisdiction in matters related to national security. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria on said the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has no jurisdiction to hear the case of alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav. In his weekly press briefing, hours after the ICJ asked Islamabad not to execute Jadhav till a final order is passed, Zakaria said the international court does not reserve any jurisdiction to hear a case that involves the national stability of Pakistan. In response to a question, he also termed India's move requiring the Advisor on Foreign Affairs of Pakistan Sartaj Aziz to write a recommendatory letter to Indian External Affairs Minister for every medical visa case as "unprecedented in inter-state relations". The spokesperson said Aziz has written to the UN inviting its attention towards the "demographic changes" being engineered by India in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. He said the human rights situation in Indian-administered Kashmir is deteriorating. Zakaria said that India as the "fastest growing nuclear programme in the world" has serious implications for strategic stability in South Asia and the national security of Pakistan, reported Dunya news. The International Court of Justice directed Pakistan that it must take “all measures at its disposal” to prevent the execution of an Indian national, Kulbhushan Jadhav, pending final judgment of the Court. Asserting its jurisdiction over the case, the court backed India's contention that there has been a violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations as New Delhi's requests for consular access to its national had been denied 16 times. The Court also stated that Pakistan shall inform it of all measures taken in implementation of that Order. It further decided to remain seised of the matters which form the subject of the Order until it has rendered its final judgment. It also noted the urgency of the case since Pakistan had given "no assurance that Mr. Jadhav will not be executed before the Court has rendered its final decision". The Court said, "It (Court) observes that the rights to consular notification and access between a State and its nationals, as well as the obligations of the detaining State to inform the person concerned without delay of his rights with regard to consular assistance and to allow their exercise, are recognized in Article 36, paragraph 1, of the Vienna Convention, and that India has alleged violations of this provision. In the view of the Court, therefore, it appears that the rights alleged by India are plausible." (With inputs from IANS)