New Delhi: Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava on Thursday said that Pakistan has not been able to fulfil its obligations to implement the ICJ judgement in Kulbhushan Jadhav case, in its letter and spirit.
While addressing a virtual press conference, the spokesperson said, “Pakistan has not been able to fulfil its obligations to implement International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgement in Kulbhusan Jadhav case, in its letter and spirit. He said there are issues that Pakistan has failed to address including the provision of relevant documents and providing unimpeded consular access to Kulbhushan.
His response came after India has asked Pakistan for the appointment of a Queen’s Counsel as a lawyer for Kulbhushan Jadhav in the ICJ mandated, ongoing review of his death sentence in Islamabad High Court.
Moreover, Pakistan’s parliament has extended by four months an ordinance that enables Indian death row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav to appeal his conviction in a high court, in accordance with a ruling of the International Court of Justice.
The International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance, issued in May, was set to expire on September 17. It allows Jadhav, sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court over alleged espionage, to file an appeal against his conviction in the Islamabad high court.
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Further, on being asked about MEA’s stand on the Zhenhua data leak issue, the spokesperson confirmed raising the Zhenhua data leak reports with Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong and forming of a committee.
He said, “MEA had accordingly taken up the matter with the Chinese side. The Chines side has conveyed that the company is a private entity”, adding that the Chinese side has also claimed that there is no connection between the company concerned and the Chinese Government.
He further reiterated that the Indian government has constituted an Expert Committee under the National Cyber Security Coordinator to study these reports, evaluate their implications, asses any violations of law and submit its recommendations within thirty days.
It is pertinent to note that as per a recent media report, the company has allegedly been spying on prominent Indians.
Sources said the government is deeply concerned with any report that suggests foreign sources are accessing or seeking to access personal data of Indian citizens without their consent.
The Ministry of External Affairs during the press briefing also welcomed the US-brokered Abraham accord between Israel and UAE and Israel and Bahrain signed in Washington on Tuesday for the normalisation of sides while saying that New Delhi continues its traditional support for the Palestinian cause.
Welcoming the Abraham Accord, India said that it has always supported peace and stability in West Asia. Meanwhile, extending support to Palestine, the MEA said that it hoped for an early resumption of direct negotiations for an acceptable two-state solution.
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On being asked about the possibility of talks between NSAs of India and China in the backdrop of NSAs BRICS meeting, spokesperson Anurag Srivastava informed that bilateral talk is “not possible”.
According to sources, NSAs of BRICS nations is set to hold a virtual meeting today. The meeting was proposed by Russia, the current presidency of BRICS. The meeting was stated to be in person, however, due to the prevailing situation due to COVID-19 pandemic, it will e conducted virtually. Earlier, EAM S Jaishankar had urged full support of BRICS in reforming the United Nations Security Council as an exercise in collective faith in meaningful multilateralism.
MEA also conveyed thanks to the Government of Afghanistan for the assistance extended over the past two years in securing the release of all seven Indian nationals who were abducted in Afghanistan in May 2018.
