Pakistan’s passport ploy in Jadhav’s case didn’t work: Harish Salve

New Delhi: Former Solicitor General Harish Salve, who represented India at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), said on Wednesday that Pakistan repeatedly displayed what it claimed was Kulbhushan Jadhav’s passport which led to the top court rejecting Islamabad’s argument that Jadhav’s nationality was uncertain.

In a huge diplomatic victory for India, the ICJ on Wednesday ordered Pakistan not to execute Jadhav and asked it to reconsider the death sentence awarded to him by a Pakistani military court in 2017.

Speaking in London after the ICJ ruling in favour of India, Salve said the top court has directed that a fair trial should be held in accordance with the Pakistani constitution.

“If it’s back to the military court with the same rule where outside lawyers aren’t allowed, we aren’t allowed, access isn’t given, evidence isn’t given, then it won’t meet the standards,” Salve said.

He also criticised the “adjectives” used by Pakistan in the court.

“I have a degree of personal satisfaction that a lot of adjectives were used by Pakistan, even in replying in the court. I characterise them as unfortunate. It’s my upbringing and India’s tradition which stood in my way of replying to them in that language,” Salve said.

“Pakistan repeatedly played slides of what it claimed was a passport it had recovered from Jadhav…This displaying of passport led to the court rejecting Pakistan’s argument that Jadhav’s nationality was uncertain,” he said.

“In the ICJ and in the systems that we as mankind put together to protect citizens of the world from state tyranny, we had challenged the conduct of Pakistan in its brazen refusal to adhere to the Vienna Convention and to allow consular access to an Indian,” he said.

The ICJ on Wednesday also directed Pakistan to grant consular access to Jadhav, while holding that it had “breached” the Vienna Convention in this regard by denying him this right.

Salve also expressed gratitude to the ICJ.

“I want to start by expressing gratitude of my country to the ICJ for the manner in which it intervened in this case. It protected Kulbhushan Jadhav from being executed, in a hearing which was put together in a matter of days,” he said.

Published on: July 18, 2019 at 02:18 IST

By IANS