Kulbhushan sentence: UN court to rule on Indian spy

THE HAGUE: The UN's top court was to rule Thursday on an urgent bid by India to stop Pakistan from carrying out a death sentence imposed on an Indian national convicted of spying.

In an emergency hearing on Monday held only days after India lodged its case, lawyers for New Delhi called on the International Court of Justice to order Islamabad to suspend its execution of Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav.

Jadhav was arrested in the southwestern province of Balochistan in March 2016 and Pakistani officials claim he has confessed to spying for Indian intelligence services. He was convicted last month by a court martial and sentenced to death.

The UN tribunal, based in The Hague, said in a statement issued Wednesday that it "will deliver its order on the request for the indication of provisional measures made by India in the Jadhav Case (India v. Pakistan), tomorrow on Thursday 18 May 2017".

The president of the court, Ronny Abraham, will read out the decision at midday (1000 GMT).

The case -- a rare foray for the two nations into the international courts -- has highlighted the recent sharp upsurge in tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals.