The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has announced its verdict on the Kulbhushan Jadhav case on Wednesday. ICJ has ruling that Jadhav be allowed consular access immediately and asking Pakistan to ensure “effective review and reconsideration of his conviction and sentences”.
The ICJ, however, rejected all other remedies sought by India, which included the annulment of the military court decision convicting Jadhav, restricting Pakistan from executing the sentence, securing Jadhav’s release and ordering his return to India.
India demands from ICJ to declare Pakistan’s military court conviction and sentence of Jadhav to be in violation of international law. But ICJ denied it because military court conviction and sentence was not for violation of international law. India also demands for release Jadhav and permit him safe passage to India. ICJ also denied it. India stated in its memorial, that the relief of review and reconsideration would be highly inadequate. But the ICJ granted review and reconsideration by a means of Pakistan’s own choosing.
The ICJ said that even though it had found Pakistan in violation of Article 36 the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR), “it is not the conviction and sentence of Mr. Jadhav which are to be regarded as a violation of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention.”
The most the ICJ said it could do was to order Pakistan to cease violation of Article 36 and review the case in light of how that violation may have affected the case’s outcome.
“The Court notes that Pakistan acknowledges that the appropriate remedy in the present case would be effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence,” it observed.
To this end, Pakistan was directed to immediately inform Jadhav of his rights under Article 36, grant India consular access, and then review the case while considering, under the laws of Pakistan, how not doing so earlier may have impacted the case’s outcome.
However one of the Pakistani former Colonel (Col) Muhammad Habib Zahir has missing since 2017 from Lumbini Nepal. He was arrived in Nepal face an interview for a United Nations job, but he was suddenly missing. It has been doubt over India about his missing. He might be kidnap by Indian side but no one care about him.
