Kulbhushan’s sentence not reversed through ordinance: Farogh Naseem

Federal Law Minister Farogh Naseem on Friday said the sentence awarded to Indian spy-terrorist Kulbhushan Jadhav was not abolished under the International Court of Justice (Review and Re-consideration) Ordinance. He would have joined the opposition in their protest if that was the case, said the law minister, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Addressing the National Assembly soon after taking the oath again as a federal minister, Farogh said they would not accept India’s demand to release Kulbhushan Jadhav.

He said India wanted to see Pakistan not complying with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict and get resolutions passed against the country from the United Nations Security Council.

The ordinance was introduced to meet the obligations under the ICJ judgement, Farogh stressed and asked the opposition not to resort to politicking on sensitive security issues.

India had filed the case with the ICJ on May 8, 2017 and the PTI wasn’t in government at that time, he added.

He said the opposition was criticising the government for not informing them about the ordinance. But, he added, the opposition too didn’t share information about the ordinances when in government.

This clarification about the controversial ordinance came after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday said the opposition thwarted the government plan to table the “Kulbhushan ordinance” in the National Assembly.

In a tweet, he said the government wanted to provide relief to the Indian spy after giving amnesty to Taliban terrorist Ehsanullah Ehsan, Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman and the people involved in corruption in BRT Peshawar, Billion Tree Tsunami, Pakistan Post Office as well as flour, sugar and petrol scandals.

Before this tweet, the opposition staged a walkout from the National Assembly after Bilawal blasted the PTI government and Prime Minister Imran Khan over introducing the ordinance allegedly to facilitate Kulbhushan.

Bilawal said Imran had been claiming that he would not give NRO to anyone but he was the one awarding most NROs in the country including notorious terrorist Ehsanullah Ehsan and Jadhav. Previously, it was Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman who got an NRO over a cup of tea, he added.

In whose custody Ehsanullah was, how he had been arrested, what the government is doing to capture him again, Bilawal questioned.

The prime minister also gave NRO to Jahangir Tareen, he remarked with reference to his involvement in the sugar scam and his ability to leave Pakistan without any action.

When Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari interrupted him and said both PTI and PPP had objected to the move of accepting the International Court of Justice’s jurisdiction, Bilawal replied it did not meant that a law should be introduced specifically for Kulbhushan.

Farogh Naseem sworn in

Senator Farogh Naseem of Muttahida Qaumi Movement Friday took oath as federal minister again.

President Dr Arif Alvi administered the oath to Farogh Naseem in a ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr which also attended by federal cabinet members and senior officers.

Barrister Farogh Naseem had resigned from the office of law minister on June 1, 2020 to represent the government in the presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa in the Supreme Court.

Earlier in November last too, he had quit the portfolio to pursue another case in the Supreme Court pertaining to the extension in the tenure of the army chief.