THE interim decision of the International Court of Justice on the Indian spy Kalbhushan Jadhav has caused disappointment among Pakistanis. The moratorium on Jadhav’s execution by the ICJ is a glaring diplomatic loss for Pakistan, on the one hand, and an undue diplomatic win for India, on the other hand.

Certainly, the development at The Hague has exposed the weaknesses and inefficiency, or probably apathy of the government in the sense that a clear case of espionage and thus breach of national security by India, with all tangible evidences, has been, if not yet lost, dragged into a questionable mode because the Pakistani counsel could not prove Jadhav guilty.

It is an established fact that Jadhav, an Indian spy, was apprehended by Pakistani security forces at the Pakistan-Iranian border. He had an Iranian passport with a fake Muslim name Hussein Mubarak Patel, and was a serving Indian navy officer working for RAW. Moreover, he has confessed to his anti-Pakistan activities and even inciting the disgruntled Baloch to rise against the state of Pakistan.

Yet, the ICJ could not be convinced of his guilt. It is not that India made strong arguments; rather the Pakistani side could not assertively present its case.

Adherence to international law is not a legal responsibility, rather it is more of a moral responsibility and, as they say there are no morals in politics, especially when it comes to the national security of a state.

Pir Suleman Shah Rashdi

Karachi

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THIS is apropos the Kulbhushan Jadhav case in the International Court of Justice. I will not call it a verdict or even a partial verdict. I will also not endorse the viewpoint of our lawyers when they say that a junior person was sent to the ICJ and that our senior and more experienced lawyers have been ignored.

I think as a layman Khawar Qureshi did more than a wonderful job. If he spoke for 50 and not 90 minutes as allotted I think he said it all. Forty more minutes would have been a sheer waste of time and words in repeating what he said in straight and simple words.

The real story is that we have lost diplomatically. The Jadhav case is a failure. From a country without a foreign minister, what diplomacy do we expect!

Have our ambassadors said a word about an Indian spy hiding with a fake passport apprehended in Pakistan? Have they said Jadhav has confessed his offence and convinced the world governments that he is a spy and a terrorist?

Name withheld on request

Lahore

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2017