Pakistan receives India's pleadings to ICJ

Islamabad, Sep 15 (IANS)    On Friday, Pakistan said that it has received the written pleadings submitted before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by India in the case of alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.

A team of lawyers and experts, headed by Attorney General Ashtar Ausuf, were considering India's pleadings, Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said.

The ICJ on Wednesday resumed the hearing in the case of Jadhav who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for espionage.

Zakaria added that Pakistan will submit its counter-memorial to the UN court soon, in which it will highlight the acts of espionage and terrorism committed by Jadhav in Pakistan, Dawn online reported.

In May 2017, India had moved the UN's top court against Pakistan and accused it of violating the Vienna Convention by denying consular access to Jadhav and requested the ICJ to ensure that Jadhav's death sentence is suspended. 

India also said that it was "not informed of Jadhav's detention until long after his arrest", and learned about his death sentence through the media.

During a hearing at the ICJ on May 15, the court had stayed Jadhav's execution. "Pakistan should take all measures to ensure that Jadhav is not executed till the final decision of this court", the court had ruled.

The ICJ is yet to pass the final verdict in the case and had ordered India and Pakistan to file their pleas and counter-arguments by September 13 and December 13, respectively.

Pakistan says Jadhav was arrested during a counter-intelligence raid in Balochistan in March 2016. 

He "confessed" to being a spy for India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).