Pakistan questions jurisdiction over internal security after Hague verdict
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday reacted to the International Court of Justice’s order not to execute Kulbhushan Jadhav, the Indian national convicted of espionage and terrorism, by saying it is determined to pursue the case to its “logical end”.
Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said Pakistan had already made it clear it doesn’t accept the United Nations’ highest court’s jurisdiction in national security matters. The attorney general contended the ICJ’s order amounted to maintaining the “status quo” in Jadhav’s case.
The two officials reacted after The Hague-based ICJ ordered Pakistan not to execute Jadhav, 46, till it gives a final decision on India’s petition to annul his death sentence. The ICJ also rejected Pakistan’s stance that it does not have the jurisdiction to take up the case.
A statement from the attorney general’s office said the ICJ wanted “the status quo (to) be maintained” in Jadhav’s case and the provisional measures were “without prejudice to the final determination” of the case.
Pakistan attended the hearing at the ICJ “because of its conviction that the only way to resolve all outstanding issues is through peaceful means”, it said.
Pakistan had also assured the ICJ that Jadhav “would be provided every opportunity and remedy available under the law to defend his case” and he “still has ample time to petition for clemency”, the statement said. “We are determined to pursue this case to its logical end,” it added.
Talking to state-run Pakistan Television after the order was issued, Zakaria said India was “trying to hide its real face” by taking Jadhav’s case to the ICJ. “The real face of India will be exposed before the world,” he said, adding Jadhav had “confessed” to his involvement in sabotage, terrorism and subversive activities.
Zakaria also told Dunya TV channel that Pakistan does not accept the ICJ’s jurisdiction in matters related to national security.
Pakistan, he added, “will present solid evidence against the Indian spy in the international court”.
Earlier, he told a weekly news briefing that India was trying to portray Jadhav’s case “as a humanitarian issue to divert the world’s attention from his role in fomenting terrorism”. SRINAGAR: The Centre and states agreed on Thursday to exempt most food items including wheat, rice and milk from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as political consensus grew for a possible July 1 roll out of India’s biggest tax reforms since Independence.
At least five state finance ministers Mint spoke to confirmed the July 1 date, a significant step ahead after several missed deadlines for the countrywide roll out of the GST.
The new tax regime will unify Asia’s third largest economy into a common market, eliminating a string of central and state levies, and is expected to shore up state and federal tax revenues, cool inflation and accelerate economic growth by 1-2 percentage points in the medium term.
While manufactured goods will attract 18% GST, other household items such as sugar, tea, coffee and edible oil will attract 5% levy, senior officials said after a meeting of the powerful GST Council in Srinagar.
Luxury cars will be taxed at 28% GST plus a cess of 15%, while small petrol cars will be taxed at 28% GST plus a 1% cess and small diesel cars at 28% plus 3% cess.
The council fixed the rates for more than 1,200 items and will discuss on Friday the rates on some other items and services.
It might meet one more time if tax rates for all items are not decided by then, finance minister Arun Jaitley said after the first day’s discussions.
“There is no increase in overall tax in any of the items, while there is a reduction of tax on many of the items,” Jaitley said. “On several commodities, we consciously brought down the
PAK FOREIGN OFFICE SPOKESMAN NAFEES ZAKARIA SAID INDIA WAS TRYING TO HIDE ITS REAL FACE” BY TAKING THE CASE TO THE ICJ
tax rate.”
Capital goods, a key asset for the manufacturing sector, will be taxed at 28%.
Several daily-use items such as hair oil, toothpaste, and soap have been kept in the 18%-slab instead of at 28%. Aerated drinks too have been put in the 28 per cent bracket.
The present tax incidence in excess of 28% on luxury items will be treated as cess after the GST rollout and will go to the corpus for compensating states for any revenue loss.
Revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia said 81% of the items will attract tax of 18% or below. Only 19% of items will be taxed at the highest rate of 28%, he said.
“The biggest take away from the decision is that food items will become cheaper,” Hasmukh Adhia added.
The cost of energy generation is likely to come down as the tax incidence on coal will come down to 5% from about 11% now.
Jammu and Kashmir, which has a special Constitutional status, will pass separate laws regarding central, state and inter-state GST so that the Himalayan state can roll out the tax reform from July 1, said a senior state official.