Pakistan to propose 3 names to ICJ for appointment as ad-hoc judges

Islamabad: Pakistan will propose three names to the International Court of Justice on Thursday for appointment as ad-hoc judges to hear the case of Indian prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav who has been sentenced to death by a military court, according to a media report.

A delegation led by Attorney General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf would present the names to the ICJ President Ronny Abraham in The Hague, according to Pakistan's private-operated news agency News Network International (NNI).

Former chief justices of Pakistan (CJP) Nasirul Mulk and Tassaduq Husin Jeelani and former attorney general Makhdoom Ali were recommended to be the ad-hoc appointees.

Pakistan's counsel Barrister Khawar Qureshi was also part of the delegation.

India had approached the world court last month seeking provisional stay to execution of Jadhav which was granted.

The 15-member bench backed India's contention that there had been a violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations as New Delhi's requests for consular access to its national had been denied 16 times.

Pakistan, which announced the death sentence on Jadhav on April 10, claims its security forces arrested him from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains that he was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy.

Jadhav's case is the latest flash-point in the tensions between Pakistan and India. The two countries last faced off at the ICJ 18 years ago when Islamabad sought its intervention over the shooting down of its naval aircraft.