India

ICJ orders Pakistan not to execute Kulbhushan Jadhav; Pakistan media cries foul

7 years ago
by Ravleen Khera
ICJ orders Pakistan not to execute Kulbhushan Jadhav; Pakistan media cries foul

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday issued a stay on the execution of former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav who has been convicted over charges of alleged espionage and terrorism, thus giving Jadhav a temporary relief of sorts.

Ronny Abraham, president of the United Nations’ highest court in The Hague, read out the order three days after India and Pakistan presented their arguments. The order states, “Pakistan shall take all measures at its disposal to ensure that Mr. Jadhav is not executed pending the final decision in these proceedings and shall inform the court of all the measures taken in implementation of the present order.”

The external affairs ministry of India lauded the order stating that this would help in remedying the violation of Jadhav’s rights. It should be noted that even though the ministry has stated that the the ICJ’s order is internationally binding, the ICJ as such has no means of enforcing its rulings and they have sometimes been ignored in the past and their orders have been sidestepped on by nations.

 

This stay order comes after Pakistan had claimed that Jadhav’s case was a “national security” issue for the country and that ICJ had no jurisdiction over it. To which the court replied stating that it had “prima facie” jurisdiction as Pakistan failed to provide consular notifications about Jadhav’s arrest and also did not allow any form of communication and access to him, which falls within the scope of the Vienna Convention.

Pakistan, in its characteristic way, downplayed the whole incident and the importance of the stay order by stating that it merely meant maintaining ‘status quo’ in the case and that it was determined to take the case to its “logical end,” adding to assure the ICJ that Jadhav “would be provided every opportunity and remedy” to defend his case and that he had “ample time to petition for clemency.”

Meanwhile, to nobody’s surprise the Pakistani media is crying foul after the stay order and is lashing out at the Pakistani legal team representing the case, for presenting ‘weak’ and ‘damaging’ arguments. Some newspapers called the decision ‘alarming’ and called out the ICJ for over stepping its jurisdiction.

Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said, “In some issues, Pakistan does recognise the jurisdiction of the ICJ. Jadhav’s case is related to Pakistan’s security. India is just twisting the facts and trying to give this case a humanitarian angle…India is trying to defend a person whose actions have led to the killing of scores of innocent Pakistanis.”

While there are also some sane people in Pakistan questioning why Jadhav was not allowed consular access inspite of India asking for it as many as 16 times.  Dawn, a Pakistan daily quoted Pakistani rights activist Asma Jahangir as asking. “Will it not endanger the rights of the prisoners languishing in Indian jails? Can one change international law?”

While, the final decision is still pending. India is surely celebrating this diplomatic victory over Pakistan and heaving a sigh of relief at where things stand as of now.

About the author

Ravleen Khera

A commerce graduate, yoga enthusiast ( certified power yoga instructor), internet/social media junkie, dog lover, coffee addict are some words that describe me. I endeavour to nurture a skill for penning down words that educate, engage, entertain and also add value to the platform my content is published on. Currently,amidst a career transition :)

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