Kulbhushan Jadhav's mother and wife met him in Pakistan in December last year
Pakistan is likely to file a counter rejoinder on or before July 17 in the International Court of Justice or ICJ on the
Kulbhushan Jadhav case. The Indian national was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court in April last year on charges of espionage and terrorism, a media report said today.
Pakistan's rejoinder will be in response to a fresh set of pleadings filed by India in the ICJ on April 17.
The office of Pakistan's attorney general, which is overseeing the case, is expected to receive the copy of the Indian rejoinder in a day or two, Pakistan-based daily Dawn reported.
Khawar Qureshi, who pleaded Pakistan's case at the initial stage, is expected to plead the case, the report said.
India had moved the Hague-based ICJ in May last after Mr Jadhav, 47, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism. A 10-member bench of the ICJ on May 18 had restrained Pakistan from executing Mr Jadhav till adjudication of the case.
In its written pleadings, India had
accused Pakistan of violating the Vienna Convention by not giving consular access to Mr Jadhav, arguing that the convention did not say that such access would not be available to an individual arrested on espionage charges.
Kulbhushan Jadhav's mother and wife were made to change their clothes before meeting him
In response, Pakistan through its counter memorial told the ICJ that the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963 applied only to legitimate visitors and did not cover clandestine operations.
India has been maintaining that the trial of Mr Jadhav by a military court in Pakistan was "farcical".
Pakistan claims that its security forces arrested Mr Jadhav from the restive Balochistan province on March 3, 2016 after he reportedly entered from Iran.
However,
India maintains that Mr Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy. His sentencing had evoked a sharp reaction in India.
India had approached the ICJ for "egregious" violation of the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963, by Pakistan in Mr Jadhav's case.
Pakistan has repeatedly denied India consular access to Mr Jadhav on the grounds that it was not applicable in cases related to "spies".
With inputs from PTI