Pakistan scowls at ICJ order, says its 'diversionary tactic'

Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Wednesday accused India of trying to play diversionary tactics by getting a stay order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the execution of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav.

"Indian letter to ICJ attempt to divert attention from state sponsored terrorism in Pak. Kulbushan convicted of offences against Nat security," tweeted the minister.

The ICJ put a stay on the death sentence given by Pakistan to alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav after New Delhi instituted proceedings against Islamabad, accusing the latter of "egregious violations of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations" in the matter of detention and trial of Jadhav, and sought a stay on his death sentence.

India on Monday 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, an official release from the ICJ said.

India further said that, in violation of the Vienna Convention, the authorities of Pakistan were denying it its right of consular access to Jadhav, despite its repeated requests. It's also pointed out that India learned about the "death sentence against Jadhav from a press release."

Last month, a Pakistan military court awarded death sentence to Jadhav for espionage and anti-national activities which led to an outrage in India.

Pakistan has turned down 16 requests from India for consular access to Jadhav.