New Delhi: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is all set to pronounce its verdict in regard to former Indian Navy officer, Kulbhushan Jadhav.
The Pakistan military court awarded death sentence to former Indian naval officer Jadhav on April 10 for alleged “espionage and subversive activities”.
However, India, after being denied consular access for 16th time, dragged Pakistan to the ICJ on May 8 for violating the Vienna Convention.
India told the ICJ that immediate steps must be taken to stop Pakistan’s from carrying out the death sentence of former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav. Demanding immediate suspension of Jadhav’s death sentence, New Delhi expressed fear that Islamabad might execute the formal Naval officer even before the hearing of the ICJ was over.
Pakistan, on its part, told ICJ that the provisions of Vienna Convention on consular access were not applicable for a ‘spy’. It also accused India of using the international body for political theatrics.
Arguing before the 11-judge bench at the ICJ, which included former Supreme Court Judge Dalveer Bhandari,India’s counsel Harish Salve stressed that not granting consular access and not giving legal representation of Jadhav’s choosing amounted to a “miscarriage of justice” and a “violation of his right” to defend himself from concocted charges in a “farcical trial”.
India told the ICJ that immediate steps must be taken to stop Pakistan’s from carrying out the death sentence of Jadhav.
Noted lawyer Harish Salve had told the court that India couldn’t arrange for Jadhav’s defence due to denial of consular access by Pakistan. He said India made innumerable requests for consular access, but Pakistan refused to provide documents relating to the case and consular access to him.
Pakistan raised the confession statement of Jadhav as a base of its argument and accused India of using the ICJ for its “political theatrics.” India termed that the confession of Jadhav was forcibly taken by the military while in captivity and he was tried by a military court in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s counsel Khawar Qureshi, while presenting Islamabad’s stance in the ICJ on death sentence handed to Jadhav, said that the former naval officer entered Islamabad through Iran using a fake passport.
He told the court that Pakistan had given India all information regarding Jadhav’s investigation, but didn’t receive any response from New Delhi.
India demanded immediate suspension of Jadhav’s death sentence but Pakistan presented the Kulbhushan Jadhav case as a matter of national security and the ICJ’s decision would not apply to “matters related to the national security of Pakistan.”
It will be a big success for India and a setback for Pakistan if the death sentence of Jadhav is suspended by the ICJ. Where on the one hand, India’s hopes regarding Jadhav will revive, on the other, Pakistan’s relations with the other nations will suffer, affecting the country multi-laterally and economically.
Here’s the Timeline of the case:
15 May 2017: The ICJ heard the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav as India and Pakistan presents their argument in the trial.
9 May 2017: The ICJ puts a stay on the death sentence given by Pakistan to Kulbhushan Jadhav after an appeal from India, which accused Pakistan of “egregious violations of the Vienna Convention.”
8 May 2017: India moved a petition in the UN seeking justice for Jadhav after being denied 16 consular accesses, alleging violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by Pakistan.
26 April 2017: Pakistan denied India’s 16th request for consular access to Jadhav.
10 April 2017: Pakistan Army’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a press release informed that Jadhav had been awarded the death sentence by a military court in Pakistan.
6 January 2017: Pakistan announced that it has submitted a dossier to the new United Nations’ Secretary General Antonio Guterres over Indian interference in Islamabad, which was aimed at “destabilising” the nation.
7 December 2016: Pakistan Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz confirms that conclusive evidence against Kulbhushan has not been found. Pakistan Foreign Ministry released a statement the same day stating that the statement attributed to the Adviser is incorrect.
25 March 2016: Indian authorities are notified about Jadhav’s arrest in a press release.
3 March 2016: Kulbhushan Jadhav, retired navy officer accused to be an Indian Intelligence agency RAW’s operative was arrested in Balochistan.