Pakistan said on Saturday that its domestic laws will prevail in the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, the former Indian Navy officer given capital punishment by a military court, and the International Court of Justice cannot nullify his death sentence.
Sartaj Aziz, the adviser on foreign policy to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said while addressing a news conference along with foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua that the ICJ had not given any ruling on providing consular access to Jadhav. "There was no operative order on consular access," he said.
On Thursday, the UN's highest legal body ordered Pakistan to stay the execution of Jadhav until its final decision on India's petition to annul his death sentence. The ICJ rejected Pakistan's argument that it had no jurisdiction in the matter and acknowledged the urgency of Jadhav's case.
Aziz noted that Europe was opposed to the death penalty and it was normal for the ICJ to stay Jadhav's execution. He said the ICJ had a tradition of ruling against the death penalty.
"But they cannot nullify our sentence," he said, adding Jadhav's case would be handled according to Pakistani law.
In response to a question, Janjua said Pakistan had received an appeal against Jadhav's death sentence from his mother and was examining it.
Jadhav was sentenced under the law of the land and he had accepted his role in "terrorist activities" in the country, Aziz said. Pakistan has evidence and Jadhav's "confession" and more details will be presented at the ICJ, he said.
"It (ICJ) is not an appeal court that it can set aside the conviction or make some change. They have to see if there was due process (in Jadhav's case) according to our Constitution and laws," he said in response to questions.
"The issues of merit and jurisdiction remain on the table. They (ICJ) said we will hear this case and during this time, don't execute him. The case doesn't change and our position doesn't change," he said.
"On merit and jurisdiction, our position is strong," Aziz said, adding that Pakistan will be able to present evidence of Jadhav's alleged involvement in "terrorism, insurgency and espionage" at the court in The Hague.
Chiding the Pakistan media for presenting a "wrong impression of the case", Aziz said Pakistan's case is very strong and India's perceived victory was "like air in a bubble".
Aziz acknowledged that Pakistan had little time to prepare its case before the hearing at the ICJ on May 15. "We were given only five days to nominate an ad hoc judge, which was not possible," he said, adding the lawyer selected to represent Pakistan - London-based Khawar Qureshi - was the consensus choice of all stakeholders.
The Pakistani team has enough evidence to present against Jadhav, he said. He also clarified that he had not told a parliamentary panel that Pakistan did not have enough evidence against Jadhav and that he had only said additional material was being gathered for a dossier to be submitted to the UN.
Pakistan has so far submitted two dossiers to the UN on India's alleged involvement in terrorist activities within the country, including one that was presented by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the UN Secretary General, he added.
Aziz said in response to a question that it was wrong to link Jadhav's case to a recent meeting between Sharif and Indian steel magnate Sajjan Jindal, who visited Pakistan last month. "It was a private visit of a private friend," he said.
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