'Processing' visa applications of Jadhav's wife & mother, confirms Pakistan

Pakistan on Sunday said the visa applications of Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife and mother had been received and were being "processed", days after it again rejected India's plea for consular access to the death row prisoner.

Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal confirmed in a tweet that Jadhav's family had applied for visas.

"Visa applications of mother and wife of Commander Jadhav received for their visit on humanitarian grounds," Faisal tweeted.

He further said the applications were "being processed" but did not give any time line for approval of visas.

On Wednesday, Pakistan had rejected India's plea for consular access to Jadhav at the ICJ, claiming that New Delhi wants the access to get the information gathered by its "spy".

In its counter-memorial submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Pakistan said the provision of such an access under the Vienna Convention is only for legitimate visitors and not for spies, a media report said.

Pakistan said that Jadhav is not an ordinary person as he had entered the country with the intent of spying and carrying out sabotage activities.
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After ICJ defeat, Britain replaces UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft

Britain today appointed Karen Pierce as its new Ambassador to the UN, replacing incumbent Matthew Rycroft under whom it suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of India in the recent election to the International Court of Justice.

Pierce is the first woman appointed to this role, and is uniquely suited for the position having previously served as Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, and more recently as the Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, the UK Mission to the UN said in a statement.

Britain's Permanent Mission to the United Nations did not give any reason for appointing Pierce as new ambassador to the world body, which comes days after it failed to get its judge Christopher Greenwood elected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after India's Judge Dalveer Bhandari consistently received nearly two-third of the votes in the UN General Assembly.

Bhandari was on Tuesday re-elected to the ICJ as the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly threw its weight behind him, forcing Britain to withdraw its candidate from the hard- fought race to the world court.

This is for the first time in 70 years that Britain would have no judge in the 15-member panel of the ICJ.
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India's Dalveer Bhandari wins second term at ICJ after UK pulls out of race

India's nominee to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Dalveer Bhandari was re-elected to the last seat of the world court after Britain withdrew its candidate from the election.

Bhandari received 183-193 votes in the General Assembly and secured all the 15 votes in the Security Council after separate and simultaneous elections were held at the UN headquarters in New York.

The elections were held after the United Kingdom, in a dramatic turn of events, withdrew out of the race for the Hague-based ICJ, thus paving the way for Bhandari's re-election to the prestigious world court.

Bhandari and Britain's Christopher Greenwood were locked in a neck-and-neck fight for re-election to the ICJ.

The permanent members of the Security Council -- the US, Russia, France, and China -- were understood to have been throwing their weight behind Greenwood. Britain is the fifth permanent member of the Security Council.

In a dramatic turn of events, the British Permanent Representative to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, wrote identical letters to the presidents of the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council, before the two chambers were scheduled to meet at 3 pm (local time) for the 12th round of voting.

Read out simultaneously by both the presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council, Rycroft said that UK's candidate Judge Christopher Greenwood had decided to withdraw from the election to the 15-membered ICJ. He along with Bhandari were seeking re-election for the nine-year term.
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Kulbhushan Jadhav case: Pakistan Senate to debate ICJ verdict

Pakistan's Senate on Monday decided to debate the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order staying the execution of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav after a senator of a hardline party tabled a motion saying the verdict hinted that Islamabad was not fully prepared to fight the case.

Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani admitted the adjournment motion by Jamaat-I-Islami Senator Sirajul Haq for regular debate and issued notices to the foreign ministry and the attorney general to brief the upper house of the parliament.

Haq made a forceful plea in the Senate about his motion, saying the judgment by the ICJ at The Hague to stay Jadhav's death sentence hinted that Pakistan was not well-prepared to fight the case brought by India.

"These and similar statements have been passed around, which are creating confusion," Haq said.

On May 18, the ICJ in a setback to Pakistan restrained it from executing Jadhav, 46, who was convicted of espionage and sentenced to death by a Pakistan military court after a secret trial.

India took the matter to the ICJ, citing that it had been repeatedly denied consular access to Jadhav in violation of the provisions of the Vienna Convention. New Delhi believes that Jadhav was abducted from Iran and brought to Pakistan.

The senator said Pakistan did not act according to the expectations and steps taken by it in the case has only caused embarrassment to the nation.

Though Jadhav's arrest was a major success, Haq said, Pakistan wasted an opportunity to bring forth the facts about the Indian national and India's subversive activities inside the country on the international stage.

He also said India has adopted aggressive attitude after Jadhav's sentencing. "India is constantly issuing threats to Pakistan regarding Jadhav's case.
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Will Pakistan risk overruling ICJ's order in Kulbhushan Jadhav case?

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Islamabad will overrule the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) order to suspend the execution of alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a military court, Pakistan's local media reports said.

According to Pakistan's local media reports, the Attorney General of Pakistan "was briefed on the issue on Friday and according to sources, Pakistan will deny jurisdiction of International Court of Justice (ICJ) over cases that have national stability at stake."

Earlier, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, sent an urgent communication to Pakistan from the office of its President under Article 74 for Islamabad and New Delhi's cooperation till a decision is reached on the death sentence case of former Indian naval officer and alleged spy Khulbhushan Jadhav.

Judge Ronny Abraham, the President of the ICJ, forwarded the urgent communication to both Pakistan and India .

ICJ President Judge Abraham in his letter to Pakistan Prime MInister Nawaz Sharif, said, " In my capacity as President of the Court, and exercising the powers conferred upon me under Article 74 , Paragraph 4, of the rules, I call upon the parties concerned ie. Your Excellency's Government , pending the court's decision on the request for provisional measures, to act in such a way as will enable any order the court may make on this request to have its appropriate effects."

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will be holding public hearings in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case on May 15. Indian lawyer Harish Salve will argue the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav on New Delhi's behalf.

Pakistan was caught by surprise when India move swiftly to ICJ and Islamabad received a midnight order that stayed the execution of Jadhav.
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