Responding to a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Khan said he appreciates the decision of the court not to acquit Jadhav.
Appreciate ICJ’s decision not to acquit, release & return Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav to India. He is guilty of crimes against the people of Pakistan. Pakistan shall proceed further as per law.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) July 18, 2019
ICJ in its ruling on Wednesday (17 July) said Pakistan had acted in breach of its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and stayed the execution of Jadhav. While rejecting the contention of Pakistan by 15 votes to one, it has asked for a review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav handed out by Pakistan’s military court.
“The Court finds that the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, in the matter of the detention and trial of an Indian national, Mr Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, has acted in breach of the obligations incumbent on it under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relation", said the ICJ.
The court, however, did not accept India’s request to order the death sentence handed out by Pakistan’s military court to be annulled and release Jadhav and to facilitate his safe passage to India.
Big win for Pakistan. India’s demand of release and repatriation of #KulbhushanJadhav rejected by ICJ.#KulbhushanVerdict
— Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) July 17, 2019
Pakistan arrested Jadhav in 2016 on alleged charges of espionage and the military court in that country had sentenced him to death.
The ICJ verdict came after an Indian appeal to the court in May 2017 challenging the arrest, detention, and trial of its national. New Delhi contended that a breach of the Vienna Convention had occurred over failing to inform Jadhav of his rights under the Convention and declining access to Jadhav by its consular officers. It argued, the entire trial and sentence by the Pakistan military court based on a “confession taken under custody”, without adequate legal representation was farcical.
Meanwhile, reacting to the judgement of the World Court, New Delhi said it validates “India’s position on this matter fully. We will continue to work vigorously for Shri Kulbhushan Jadhav’s early release and return to India", said a media release by the Ministry of External Affairs.
