The UN's highest judicial body, which had earlier provisionally stayed Jadhav's sentence on May 9, also instructed Islamabad to inform it "of all the measures taken in implementation of the present order".
In a major boost to India, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) stayed the execution of former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who had been sentenced to death by a Pakistan military court on charges of espionage and subversive activities. "Pakistan shall take all measures at its disposal to ensure that Mr Jadhav is not executed pending the final decision in these proceedings," ICJ President Ronny Abraham said while reading out the verdict.
The UN's highest judicial body, which had earlier provisionally stayed Jadhav's sentence on May 9, also instructed Pakistan to inform it "of all the measures taken in implementation of the present order".
"The court also decides that, until it has given its final decision, it shall remain seized of the matters which form the subject matter of this order," a press release from the global court said.
Asserting its jurisdiction over the case, the court backed India's contention that there has been a violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations as New Delhi's requests for consular access to its national had been denied 16 times.
India and Pakistan, it noted, have been signatories to the Vienna Convention since 1977.
As soon as the order came in, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his satisfaction and spoke to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who described the verdict as a "great relief".
They both thanked senior lawyer Harish Salve, who headed the battery of lawyers presenting India's case.
Official MEA reaction
Speaking about verdict, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Gopal Baglay stated that the ICJ has delivered a unanimous, clear and unambiguous order asking Pakistan not to execute Kulbhushan Jadhav. Calling it a ‘matter of great relief’ that Pakistan couldn’t execute Jadhav, the EAM assured parliament that the government will do everything to ensure justice. The MEA spokesman added that provisional relief was an essential first step and the order will help remedy violation of Jadhav’s rights. The Mea added that it hoped that the concerned authorities of Pakistan had heard and that the order was a legally-binding international international obligation.
The MEA said that the order is binding internationally and that New Delhi hoped that all members of the international community would follow the law. Speaking about getting consular access to Jadhav, he said that matter was subjudice. The next hearing date will be decided by the ICJ, and said that if Pakistan wanted to give consular access, it could give it any time.
Pakistan cries foul
Pakistan does not accept the International Court of Justice's jurisdiction in matters related to national security, its Foreign Office said today after the UN court stayed the execution of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav. Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria also hit out at India, saying the country has been "trying to hide its real face" by taking the case of Jadhav to ICJ.
Jadhav, 46, was sentenced to death in March by a Pakistani military court and India approached the highest UN judicial body with the plea to stay his execution. The Hague-based ICJ heard the two sides on Monday where Pakistan had challenged the jurisdiction of the court but in its decision the court prime facie exercised the jurisdiction and accepted Indian pleas. The court today instructed Pakistan to take all "necessary measures at its disposal" to ensure that Jadhav was not executed pending a final decision by it.
Pakistan was in shock as it was confident that the ICJ will throw out the case on the grounds of jurisdiction. Talking to the state-run Pakistan Television after the ruling was delivered, Zakaria said India has been "trying to hide its real face" by taking the case of Jadhav to ICJ.
"The real face of India will be exposed before the world," he said, adding that Jadhav has confessed his crimes of sabotage, terrorism and subversion activities not only once but twice.
He said Pakistan has already informed the ICJ that it does not accept its jurisdiction in matters related to the national security. "We do not accept the jurisdiction of the ICJ in matters related to the national security of the country," he was quoted as saying by the Dunya TV.
However, he said Pakistan "will present solid evidence against the Indian spy in the International Court.
Earlier, Zakaria said at the weekly press briefing said India was trying to portray Jadhav's case "as a humanitarian issue to divert the world's attention from his role in fomenting terrorism" inside Pakistan. "After India stood exposed in state sponsored terrorism and financing terrorism, it tried to divert attention from presenting the Kulbushan Jadhav case with a humanitarian angle," he said.
He said Pakistan's position was clear as it was a matter of national security. He said Pakistan s reply to ICJ was in line with Article 36 (2) of the Vienna Convention that Pakistan does not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICJ in this case.
With inputs from agencies
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