In the first of its kind assurance from Pakistan in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, Pakistani High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit said Islamabad will abide by the court's ruling last week staying the Indian national's death sentence. Speaking to the Indian media, Basit said Islamabad was committed to international laws and its multilateral obligations and that it would abide by the ruling which stayed the execution until it passed its final judgement.
“That is only in the context of provisional order that only stays execution and it has no bearing whatsoever on the merit of the case,” Basit said. He added that the court had not said anything conclusive about consular access and that all such issues would be decided in the final judgement. “No country compromises on security issues. Remember, he was convicted of subversion and terrorism. He is not an ordinary citizen but a serving naval officer. As for the merits of the Commander Jadhav case, we are on terra firma and thus very confident of our position. Terrorism cannot be condoned under any circumstances.”
In case the ICJ upholds the death sentence, Jadhav will still have 60 days to file mercy petition before the Pakistan army chief. In case that is rejected, he can seek mercy from Pakistan President. India won a major reprieve at the ICJ when its demand for provisional measures staying Jadhav's execution was upheld by The Hague-based court. Indian counsel Harish Salve successfully argued that Pak had violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by not granting consular access to India. Pak meanwhile, argued that the the 2008 bilateral agreement on consular access took precedence over VCCR was also rejected by the court.
Former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav was sentenced to death in Pakistan on accusations of being an Indian spy. Rushing to the ICJ on fears that Jadhav might just get executed any time, India contested Pak's move, maintaining that he was abducted from international waters in March and taken to Pakistan where he was tortured and forced to confess on camera, his involvement in acts of sabotage and espionage towards Pakistan.
The highest UN court summarily rejected Pak's contention that it lacked jurisdiction in the case, and held that India had a “plausible” right to access to Jadhav. “Pakistan shall take all measures at its disposal to ensure that Jadhav is not executed pending the final decision in these proceedings and shall inform the court of all the measures taken in the implementation of the present order,” said president of the court, Ronny Abraham.
In its provisional order, the ICJ said it had jurisdiction in the matter, rejecting Pak's argument that India had agreed to keep matters concerning national security out of the purview of the Vienna Convention. “The court notes that Pakistan has given no assurance that Jadhav will not be executed before the court has rendered its final decision. In these circumstances, the court is satisfied that there is urgency in this case,” the ICJ said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, officials of the Ministry of External Affairs, and Salve, for successfully putting forward India's case in the world court. MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay called the order a “great relief”. “ICJ has delivered a unanimous, favourable, clear and unambiguous order for India's request for provisional measures. This order creates legally binding international obligations. We hope the verdict will end the egregious violation of Jadhav's rights.”
