Hague, July 17: The fate of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is on death row in Pakistan, will be decided by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) today. Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf will preside a public hearing at 3 pm (6.30 pm IST) on July 17 at the Peace Palace in The Hague and announce ICJ's verdict on the Kulbhushan Jadhav case. The official website of the United Nations will host live streaming of the ICJ judgment on the Kulbhushan Jadhav case. The Twitter handle @UNWebTV will also live telecast pronouncing of the judgment.
Kulbhushan Jadhav, a retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death in April 2017 by the Field General Court Martial (FGCM) in Pakistan on charges of "espionage and terrorism". The ICJ had restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav till the case was adjudicated on. According to Pakistan, Jadhav is a "spy" who was arrested from restive Balochistan province on March 3, 2016. India, however, maintained that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests. Click here to watch live streaming of the ICJ verdict on the Kulbhushan Jadhav case. India Sends Note Verbale to Pakistan, Seeks Repatriation of 10 Prisoners, Consular Access to Kulbhushan Jadhav.
India's case, represented by former Solicitor General Harish Salve, is based on two broad issues — breach of Vienna Convention on consular access and the process of resolution. It also urged the ICJ to annul Jadhav’s death sentence and order his immediate release, saying the verdict by a Pakistani military court based on a “farcical trial” and it failed to satisfy even the minimum standards of due process. Pakistan Asks ICJ to 'dismiss' India's Claim for Relief to Kulbhushan Jadhav.
Pakistan on its part claimed that it had a robust judicial system in its country and dismissed India's plea for repatriation of Jadhav as "devoid of legal merit". Pakistan had facilitated a meeting of Jadhav with his mother and wife in Islamabad on December 25, 2017.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 17, 2019 05:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).