ICJ stays death sentence on Kulbhushan Jadav

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has suspended the death sentence on alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav by a Pakistani military court, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday.

"I have spoken to the mother of #KulbhushanJadhav and told her about the order of President, ICJ under Art 74 Paragraph 4 of Rules of Court," she said in a tweet.

She also said that legal luminary Harish Salve was representing the country on the matter.

Article 74, paragraph 4 of the ICJ rules says "pending the meeting of the Court, the President may call upon the parties to act in such a way as will enable any order the Court may make on the request for provisional measures to have its appropriate effects". Under this provision, the ICJ's President Justice Ronny Abraham has written to Pakistan seeking the suspension of the sentence.

India had moved the court on Monday seeking a set of reliefs including "by way of suspension of the sentence of death awarded to the accused", and "restraining Pakistan from giving effect to the sentence awarded by the military court".

Jadhav, a former Indian naval officer, was allegedly arrested in Balochistan in March 2016 and Pakistan said Jadhav worked for the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) fuelling the Baloch separatist movement and attempting to sabotage the CPEC project.

A military court sentenced him to death on April 10 on charges of espionage and waging war against Islamabad.

New Delhi had warned that if Jadhav was hanged, it would be considered "premeditated murder" by Islamabad.

--IANS

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