'ICJ's stay on Jadhav's execution a big win for Modi government'

A day after the International Court of Justice stayed the hanging of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for espionage, Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir stated that the development signalled a major victory the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

Ahir said that the stay ordered by the international court has put Pakistan in its place.

“This is a big success for India and a big loss for Pakistan. Pakistan doesn’t work the legitimate way. It was about to punish an innocent person. This is a big win for the Narendra Modi government,” Ahir said.

The International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, has put a stay on the death sentence given by Pakistan to Jadhav.

The development came after India instituted proceedings against Pakistan, 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 the 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.”

India had submitted that it had information that Jadhav was “kidnapped from Iran, where he was carrying on business after retiring from the Indian Navy, and was then shown to have been arrested in Balochistan” on March 3, 2016, and that the Indian authorities were notified of that arrest on March 25, 2016.

India also asked the ICJ to declare the decision illegal being violative of international law and treaty rights and restrain Pakistan from acting in violation of the Vienna Convention and international law by giving effect to the sentence or the conviction in any manner, and directing it to release the convicted Indian National forthwith, if Pakistan is unable to annul the decision.

Pakistan had claimed that Jadhav was arrested from the Balochistan province last year. A military court sentenced him to death, alleging he was involved in espionage and anti-national activities. Pakistan also claimed that he was “a serving officer in the Indian Navy.”