On Wednesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa held a meeting after International Court of Justice stayed the hanging of Indian “spy” Kulbushan Jadhav. This was their second meeting in the same week and is significant considering the light of prevailing tension in the civil-military relations of the country.
In the meeting, General Bajwa was accompanied by Director General Inter-Services Intelligence Lt. Gen Naveed Mukhtar. Additionally, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was also present at the meeting.
Reacting to the stay order, Foreign Affairs Advisor said, “We are analysing the Indian petition and the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) authority.”
Earlier, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said, India’s decision to move the ICJ to halt the death sentence awarded to Jadhav was an attempt to divert attention from “state-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan”. Notably, the ICJ on Tuesday told Pakistan not to hang Jadhav, sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of promoting terrorism in its territory and spying for India.
Asif tweeted: “Indian letter to ICJ attempt to divert attention from state-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan. Kulbushan convicted of offences against national security.” However, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said the decision to approach the ICJ was taken in the case after careful deliberation.
