Kulbhushan Jadhav gets ICJ lifeline

THE HAGUE: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday stayed the execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistan military court on charges of espionage and subversive activities.

In a major boost to India, which has moved the UN’s highest judicial body against the death sentence, the ICJ instructed Pakistan to take all necessary measures at its disposal to ensure that Jadhav was not executed pending a final decision by it. The decision of the 11-judge bench was unanimous, ICJ President Ronny Abraham said while reading out the verdict. 

The ICJ said that India should have been granted consular access to its national as per the Vienna Convention to which both countries have been signatories since 1977. The ICJ asserted its jurisdiction over the case while noting that the circumstances of Jadhav’s arrest remain disputed. Pakistan claims its forces arrested Jadhav from Balochistan on March 3 last year after he entered from Iran. India maintains he was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.