PTI leader Shafqat Mehmood. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Hours after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a temporary stay on the execution of convicted Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) issued a statement blaming Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the 'unfavourable' outcome and asked him to clear his position in parliament.
Raising suspicions over the recent meeting of Indian business tycoon Sajjan Jindal with PM Nawaz, PTI Central Information Secretary Shafqat Mehmood on Thursday made a demand for the premier to disclose all details of his 'secret' meetings with Jindal, who is known to be a friend of Indian PM Narendra Modi.
In the statement, the PTI has raised a series of questions, seeking an explanation from the incumbent prime minister on the Indian response on the Jadhav issue.
ICJ orders Pakistan not to execute Jadhav until its final order in case
“PM Nawaz should appear before the house to explain why Pakistan did not appoint an ad hoc judge as it had a right to and why the Foreign Office did not take legal advice before initiating correspondence on the issue,” Shafqat Mehmood questioned.
Last week, India had challenged Jadhav's sentence in the ICJ after a military court sentenced him to death in April. No date has been set for his execution. Jadhav is a former Indian navy officer who was arrested in Balochistan in March 2016.
The PTI also sought further explanations from the PML-N government. “Why the government has selected a lawyer who has not a single international law case reported from the UK Supreme Court and what was the reason to engage London Queen’s Counsel (QC) who was based in Qatar?”
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As if they are not enough, the PTI official went on to press the premier to clarify why his government assigned the task to a lawyer who has never argued a case independently before the International Court of Justice and what compelled his government to send a first-year associate from the Attorney General’s office instead of AG himself.
Seeking a reply on why the government did not submit a written defence before May 15, Shafqat Mehmood said, “Today’s decision is a clear outcome of the rendezvous of Nawaz Sharif and his Indian friend Jindal.”
He added, “The impression is gaining ground that the government deliberately adopted an irresolute and fragile strategy in this matter.”
Pakistan at the ICJ
While criticising PM Nawaz, the PTI leader argued, apprehensions regarding the ICJ decision came true. “Secluded decisions, shrouded national security and defence policies are lethal for the country.”
He went on to say that the national security, defence and foreign affairs demand more subtlety and austerity. “Consultation and national consensus on issues of sensitive nature can abate vulnerability.”
Earlier, taking to Twitter following the ICJ order, PTI’s senior leader Dr Shireen Mazari also hit hard at the PML-N government, claiming she had already known what the outcome of the today’s judgement would be.
As I had predicted in my earlier tweets the ICJ decision was a foregone conclusion. We did not have to go to ICJ to begin with but we did
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) May 18, 2017
She also tweeted:
We did not explain our appeal and review system to show there was no urgency - we simply said he wld be executed in August 2017! Delib game https://t.co/Xp9cihcjhD
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) May 18, 2017
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