Foreign minister S Jaishankar. (ANI)

NEW DELHI: Pakistan should respect the International Court of Justice ruling on Kulbhushan Jadhav and release and repatriate the Indian national immediately, foreign minister S Jaishankar told Parliament on Thursday. He was making a statement on the ICJ ruling slamming Pakistan for violating the Vienna Convention in the Jadhav case.

Jaishankar said the ICJ judgment was not only a vindication for India and Jadhav but for all those who believed in the rule of law and the sanctity of international conventions. The minister’s comments indicate India will continue to forcefully demand Jadhav’s return having rejected allegations of spying levelled against him.

Describing the ruling as a landmark judgment, the minister said no forced confession, that too without legal representation and due process, would change the fact that Jadhav was innocent of the charges levelled against him. India has said Jadhav was kidnapped by Pakistan in Iranian waters and made to confess to acts of terror in a bid to falsely depict Indian involvement in Balochistan .

“In 2017, the government made a commitment on the floor of the House to undertake all steps necessary to protect the interest and welfare of Jadhav. The government has made untiring efforts in seeking his release, including through legal means in the International Court of Justice. I am sure that the House will join me in appreciating the efforts of all those involved, especially the legal team led by Harish Salve ,” Jaishankar said in the Rajya Sabha.

Significantly, the minister said the court unanimously found that it had jurisdiction on the matter and by a vote of 15-1 pronounced on other key aspects of the case. The sole dissenting judge was from Pakistan. The ICJ had held that the Jadhav case was very much part of its jurisdiction and a bilateral agreement referred to by Pakistan could not replace the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

The court pronounced that Pakistan had breached the relevant obligations under the Vienna Convention, Jaishankar said. “It did so by not notifying India without delay of the detention of Jadhav, thereby depriving us of the right to render consular assistance. Pakistan was also found to have deprived India of the right to communicate with Jadhav, have access to him, visit him in detention and arrange his legal representation,” he said.

The court declared that Pakistan was under obligation to inform Jadhav without further delay of his rights and to provide India consular access to him. “It stated that the appropriate reparation in this case was for Pakistan to provide by means of its own choosing review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav. It bears noting that the court has re-emphasised that review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence must be effective. A continued stay of execution in the judgment of the court constitutes an indispensable condition for the process of effective review and reconsideration,” Jaishankar said.

The minister called upon the House to join him in expressing its strong solidarity with Jadhav’s family. “They have shown exemplary courage in difficult circumstances. I can assure that the government will vigorously continue its efforts to ensure Jadhav’s safety and well-being as well as his early return to India,” he said.



In Video: “Kulbhushan Jadhav’s detention illegal”, says External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar