ICJ's next action on Kulbhushan after Pakistan submits its memorial

The next course of action by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Kulbhushan Jadhav, the Indian national sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage, will be decided after Pakistan submits its memorial or written pleadings, a senior official said here on Thursday

"As you are aware, we had submitted our written memorial to the ICJ on September 13, 2017," Ravish Kumar, spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry, said in his weekly media briefing.

"ICJ has given time to Pakistan till December 13, 2017, to submit its own memorial," he said. "After the submission of the two memorials, ICJ will decide on the next course of action."

The court had fixed June 13, September 13 and December 13 as dates for India to file its documents and for Pakistan to file counter-documents. The order was made after taking into account the views of the parties, an ICJ statement said.

After Jadhav was awarded capital punishment by a Pakistani military court in April this year, India challenged the verdict in the top UN court, accusing Islamabad of violating the Vienna Convention by failing to provide Jadhav with consular access which it said was in breach of international human rights laws.

New Delhi also appealed to the court to impose emergency measures for Jadhav's execution to be suspended until the legal battle in The Hague concludes.

On May 18, the ICJ ruled that Jadhav must not be put to death by Islamabad until the ICJ has had enough time to pass the final judgement in the case, and ordered a stay against the execution.

Pakistan says Jadhav was arrested during a counter-intelligence raid in Balochistan in March 2016.

He purportedly "confessed" to being a spy for India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in a video released by Pakistan.

--IANS

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