Kulbushan & The ICJ – Part II

It gets more and more curious and curious. And, God Forbid, of an extremely tragic and high handed conspiracy at the highest levels of our Government!

Pakistan filed a declaration in the United Nations, submitted by Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, accepting the International Court of Justice’s compulsory jurisdiction on all cases brought by or against Pakistan.

Pakistan being one of 72 Countries, which has filed this declaration. India has also filed a similar declaration.

But there’s a big difference.

India filed theirs in 1974.

Pakistan filed theirs on 29th March, 2017. A few days before Kulbushan was sentenced to death in Pakistan.

By submitting this declaration Pakistan has accepted the “compulsory jurisdiction” of the International Court of Justice.

So, if this isn’t doesn’t stink of a conspiracy to get Kulbushan freed, then Altaf Hussain must be Pakistan’s Greatest Patriot!

Some questions.

  1. While the declaration does specify conditions to the compulsory jurisdiction, the question is why now?
  2. What was the urgency to submit this now just a few days before Kulbushan’s sentencing?
  3. Why did it take the Nawaz Government in power for 4 years, to file it a few days before Kulbushan’s sentencing.
  4. Why didn’t ANY GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN, thought it useful for Pakistan to file such a declaration since 1947?
  5. Why was this major commitment given to the ICJ without any consultation, debate or discussion in Parliament?
  6. Is there a record of it being discussed and debated in the Cabinet?

The following extract from the ICJ website explains what “compulsory jurisdiction” means.

“Declarations Recognizing the Jurisdiction of the Court as Compulsory

The States parties to the Statute of the Court may “at any time declare that they recognize as compulsory ipso facto and without special agreement, in relation to any other State accepting the same obligation, the jurisdiction of the Court” (Art 36, para. 2 of the Statute).

Each State which has recognized the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court has in principle the right to bring any one or more other State which has accepted the same obligation before the Court by filing an application instituting proceedings with the Court, and, conversely, it has undertaken to appear before the Court should proceedings be instituted against it by one or more such other States.

The Declarations Recognizing as Compulsory the Jurisdiction of the Court take the form of a unilateral act of the State concerned and are deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The texts of declarations under Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Statute, which, based on the information provided by the depository, had not expired by effluxion of time, or whose withdrawal or replacement had not been notified by 17 May 2017 will be found below.

The fact that a declaration is or is not included in this section, is without prejudice to its possible application by the Court in a particular case.

In view of the provisions of Article 36, paragraph 5, of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the present section also contains the texts of declarations made under the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice which have not lapsed or been withdrawn. There are now six such declarations.

The declarations, deposited by a total of 72 States, are given here in English. Where this is not the original language of the declaration, the translations used, except where otherwise indicated, are by the Secretariat of the United Nations or of the League of Nations.

The following declaration have been filed with the Secretary-General of the United Nations (the date shown after the name of the State is that on which the declaration was deposited):

Pakistan. 29 March, 2017.

Here’s the link to the International Court of Justice web site on the declaration and the list of countries.


So, as expected, either through a series of incredibly incompetent actions or active and deliberate connivance with India, Pakistan failed in convincing the ICJ, that it had no jurisdiction, after having updated a freshly submitted “declaration” to the ICJ on 29 March 2017, accepting their “compulsory” jurisdiction.

And so, the ICJ gave immediate relief to India and stayed Yadav’s execution.

Khawaja Aamer Raza, Khawaja Saad Rafiq’s first cousin and a former VP of PMLN, with very close political ties to PM Nawaz and CM Shahbaz, having served as spokesman to both, has raised the following questions, earlier today.

  1. Why did Pakistan not appoint ad hoc judge which we had a right to?
  2. Why did we choose a lawyer who has not a single international law case reported from the U.K. Supreme Court?
  3. Why did the FO not take legal advice before writing letters?
  4. Why did Pakistan choose a London QC who is Qatar based?
  5. Why did we send a first-year associate from AG office instead of AG to ICJ?
  6. Why did we choose a lawyer who has never argued a case independently before ICJ.
  7. Why did we not submit a written defence before 15 May?

Given the above and all that I’ve written in my last 3 articles on the issue, I say with great sadness, that this case is either one of active commission and or omission or pure incompetence of Herculean proportions.

All Pakistanis would want to believe the latter, that it was incompetence and not active collusion with India.

Because accepting the former of active collusion with India, means our National Security is compromised at our highest levels.

And if we so believe that there was and is active collusion between Pakistan and India to provide relief to Kulbushan, then the finger points right to the top and to none other than PM NAWAZ SHARIF.

PM Nawaz Sharif has to directly answer the many questions which have been raised.

And answer them in detail, to parliament and to the public, himself directly, fully, and to the complete satisfaction of the two legislatures and the common person.

And if we, the Pakistani Nation, don’t get the answers and believe he is once again lying as he did in PanamaGate, then the Supreme Court must be approached to initiate an inquiry and for impeachment proceedings against him for endangering National Security, colluding with the enemy and passing classified information to India.

PM Nawaz Sharif must answer these questions, fully, squarely and directly, to avoid being labeled a traitor.

Or failing which, face the consequences of being one!

A sad day for Pakistan!
