Pakistan govt under fire for its handling of Jadhav case

Islamabad, May 19  : The Pakistan government on Friday faced flak over its handling of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), with several legal experts questioning the strategy adopted and asking why it accepted the global court’s jurisdiction.
The Hague-based court, the UN’s highest judicial body, had on Thursday stayed the execution of Jadhav, 46, considered a spy by Pakistan. The ruling triggered criticism of the Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) for its “poor handling” and also for its choice of Khawar Qureshi, who represented Pakistan’s case before the ICJ.
The Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) had recommended some other counsel, The Express Tribune reported.
According to former Pakistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Farogh Naseem, Pakistan should have immediately withdrawn its March 29, 2017 declaration accepting the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ.
Instead of contesting the matter, Pakistan should have withdrawn the declaration immediately after India took Jadhav’s case to the ICJ, he said. “Why did Pakistan not take the glaring and brutal human rights violations in Kashmir before the court, despite the fact that Islamabad had a strong case in this regard?”