ICJ to hear plea against Kulbhushan’s death sentence on May 15

KARACHI: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will begin public hearing on India’s plea against execution spy Kulbhushan Jadhav from Monday, May 15.

Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing’s (RAW) spy Kulbhushan Jadhav was sentenced to death by a military court in Pakistan.

However, the Indian media on May 10 claimed that the ICJ stayed Kulbhushan Jadhav’s death sentence.

A statement released by the ICJ on late Wednesday stated that the hearings will be devoted to the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by India.

The ICJ will hear India’s observations in the first session and that of Pakistan in the second session, the statement reads.

The hearing will be streamed live and on demand (VOD) on the ICJ’s website, as well as on the United Nations online television, further in the statement.

On the other hand, the Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Wednesday said that the Foreign Office was still analyzing the Indian petition and the ICJ's authority on the case.

According to a press release issued on Tuesday from The Hague-based ICJ, India requested the United Nations' judicial organ to provide relief "by way of immediate suspension of the sentence of death awarded to the accused".

It is pertinent to mention here that, Jadhav alias Hussein Mubarak Patel was arrested on March 3, 2016, through a Counter-Intelligence Operation from Mashkel area of Balochistan for his involvement in espionage and sabotage actives in Pakistan.

Pakistani officials, according to Geo News, responded that they do not know of any such decision. Without hearing the other party (Pakistan, in this case), no such decision by the ICJ would be applicable to Pakistan, the officials were quoted as saying.