International Court Of Justice stays hanging of Kulbhushan Jadhav

International Court Of Justice stays hanging of Kulbhushan Jadhav

NEW DELHI: International Court of Justice has stayed the death sentence given to Kulbhushan Jadhav by Pakistan military court on charges of 'spying(जासूसी)'. The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) stayed his execution(क्रियान्वयन) following India's submission that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he was involved in business after retiring from the Navy. India, in its appeal to the ICJ, accused Pakistan of "egregious(प्रबल)" violations of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and asserted that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he was involved in business activities after retiring from the Indian Navy but Pakistan claimed to have arrested him from Balochistan on March 3, 2016.

Following India's appeal, the ICJ stayed Jadhav's execution.

India, in its appeal, contended that it was not informed of Jadhav's detention until long after his arrest and that Pakistan failed to inform the accused of his rights.

It further asserted that, in violation of the Vienna Convention, the Pakistani authorities were denying India its right of consular access to Jadhav, despite repeated requests.

"Referring to 'the extreme gravity and immediacy of the threat that authorities in Pakistan will execute an Indian citizen in violation of obligations Pakistan owes to India', India urges the Court to deliver an order indicating provisional measures immediately, 'without waiting for an oral hearing'," India's appeal said.

I have spoken to the mother of #KulbhushanJadhav and told her about the order of President, ICJ under Art 74 Paragraph 4 of Rules of Court.

Jadhav was given death sentence last month by the Field General Court Martial in Pakistan, evoking a sharp reaction from India which warned Pakistan of consequences and damage to bilateral ties if the "pre-meditated murder" was carried out.

The Pakistan army had released a statement last month saying that Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was arrested in March 2016 in Balochistan, had been found guilty of "involvement in espionage and sabotage activities" against the country by a military tribunal. In an order signed by army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, the retired Indian Navy officer was sentenced to death.

Pakistan had alleged that Jadhav was "a serving officer" in the Indian Navy and deputed to the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and had released a " confessional video " of Jadhav after his arrest.

According to the ISPR statement, Jadhav "confessed" before a Magistrate and the court that he was "tasked by RAW to plan, coordinate and organise espionage/sabotage activities aiming to destabilise and wage war against Pakistan by impeding the efforts of Law Enforcement Agencies for restoring peace in Balochistan and Karachi."

India has acknowledged Jadhav as a retired Indian Navy officer, but denied the allegation that he was in any way connected to the government. The government's repeated requests for consular access to Jadhav had been denied by Pakistan.