ICJ orders Pakistan to stay execution of Indian ‘spy’

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday ordered Pakistan to stay execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian man arrested and sentenced to death over espionage charges.

“Pakistan shall take all measures at its disposal to ensure that Jadhav is not executed pending the final decision… ,” ICJ Judge Ronny Abraham said.

In April, a Pakistani military court had sentenced Jadhav to death. The court heard the accused was a serving officer in the Indian Navy and had been allegedly involved in carrying out espionage and sabotage in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi and Balochistan province.

India had approached the ICJ against the sentence on May 8, accusing Pakistan of “egregious violations of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations” in the matter of the detention and trial of the Indian national.

The court has asked Pakistan to give consular access to Jadhav, who was arrested in March last year in the country’s southern province, a few kilometers (miles) from the Iranian border.

The decision has been termed as a diplomatic win for India.

Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj tweeted, “The ICJ order has come as a great relief to the family of Kulbhushan Jadhav and people of India”.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, while talking to reporters said: “The Indian government’s stand is still victorious. It’s a pat on the back for India and its people. Hope that the final decision also comes India's way and we can see Mr. Jadhav come back home”.

Meanwhile, Pakistan said the ICJ’s decision has not changed the status of Jadhav’s case in any manner.

“We are determined to pursue this case to its logical end," Pakistan’s Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali said in a statement on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Pakistan adviser on foreign affairs, Sartaj Aziz said Islamabad would decide about the consular access to Jadhav in the light of “national security dynamics”.

He opined that the ICJ’s decision to grant consular access to the “Indian spy” was just an advice, and not a judgment.