Pakistan parliament's national security panel has expressed its disappointment over the government's explanation about the performance of the country's legal team in alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav's case at the ICJ.
The committee on Tuesday discussed the Jadhav case after the International Court of Justice on May 18 directed Pakistan to stay the Indian national's execution till the court delivers its final order, Dawn online reported on Wednesday.
Jadhav has been awarded death sentence by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and waging war against Islamabad.
Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali, who will represent the Pakistani side at the ICJ, testified before the committee.
The panel will convene its next meeting on May 30 for further deliberations on the issue and reviewing preparations for the June 8 hearing at the ICJ.
India had instituted proceedings against Pakistan for violating Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by denying consular access to Jadhav, who Pakistan says was arrested from Balochistan.
India has maintained that Jadhav, whose family stays in Mumbai, was doing business in Iran and abducted from that country.
The panel on Tuesday severely criticised the government for poor handling of the case by the legal team at the ICJ. Lawyer Khawar Qureshi represented Pakistan in the previous hearing at the Hague-based tribunal.
Speaker Ayaz Sadiq told the media after the meeting that the members were dissatisfied with the responses by the government officials.
He said the legal team would go fully prepared to the Hague for their next appearance in the case.
The members regretted that the government officials, who appeared before the parliamentary body, were either unprepared or were reluctant to share information.
--IANS
py/sac
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