india

Updated: Sep 02, 2019 11:02 IST

A day after Pakistan said it will grant consular access to former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, India accepted the offer. Islamabad’s offer is in line with the the International Court of Justice’s judgment in the case. Sources said Gaurav Ahluwalia, charge d’ affaires at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, will meet Jadhav.

A military court in Pakistan had sentenced Kulbhushan Jadhav to death in April 2017 a year after it said he was arrested from Balochistan in March 2016 and charged with involvement in spying and subversive activities. New Delhi had rejected the charges and said Jadhav was kidnapped from Chabahar port in Iran. India approached the ICJ against Pakistan.

The ICJ’s verdict left Pakistan in a tight spot. The UN court noted in its ruling that Pakistan’s clemency process wasn’t sufficient to serve as an appropriate means of review and reconsideration.

AHere are the key points of the verdict

1. ICJ rules that it has jurisdiction to decide India’s plea for Kulbhushan Jadhav. Stay of Jadav’s execution ordered by Pak’s military court will continue.

2. By not informing Kulbhushan Jadhav without delay of his rights under Article 36, paragraph 1 (b), of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan breached the obligations incumbent upon it under that provision.

3. Pakistan deprived India of the right to communicate with and have access to Mr Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav to visit him in detention and to arrange for his legal representation. Thereby Pakistan breached the obligations incumbent upon it under Article 36, paragraph 1 (a) and (c), of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

4. Pakistan is under an obligation to inform Mr. Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav without further delay of his rights and to provide Indian consular officers access to him in accordance with Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

5. Pakistan to provide, by the means of its own choosing, effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence of Mr. Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, so as to ensure that full weight is given to the effect of the violation of the rights set forth in Article 36 of the Convention.