Kulbhushan Jadhav's ICJ case to be decided later this month

HAGUE: International Court of Justice (ICJ) likely to make a decision over Kulbhushan Jadhav later this month, ARY News reported on Thursday.

Kulbhushan Jadhav who is currently in the custody of Pakistan’s Law Enforcing Agencies (LEAs) has been accused with charges pertaining to espionage which are punishable by death under the law of the land.

Pakistan on Feb 15 released a fact sheet just before the hearing of Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case at International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

The court will hear the Indian spy, caught by the Pakistani security agencies on March 24, 2014 from Balochistan, case on Monday.

Pakistan has presented evidence obtained from Commander Jadhav after his arrest, and during the criminal process leading to his conviction as amply demonstrating his activities in fomenting terrorism and engaging in espionage in Pakistan.

Pakistan will make its closing submissions on Thursday and it is expected that the ICJ decision will be delivered by the summer this year.

The ICJ has repeatedly stated that it is not a Criminal Court of Appeal and effective review of a conviction is available before the domestic Courts.

Who is Kulbhushan Jadhav?

Pakistani security agencies on March 24, 2016 apprehended an ‘on-duty RAW agent’ from Balochistan. The suspect was said to be an officer of the Indian navy working for the covert agency to destabilize Pakistan.

The operative had contacts with banned organizations and was working on plans to break Karachi and Balochistan away from Pakistan, and to sabotage the billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

On March 25, a day after the arrest, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the Indian man arrested from Balochistan has no connection with the government, however, admitted that Kulbhushan Yadav is a former officer of the Indian navy.

“He (Jadhav) acquired premature retirement from the Indian navy and since then the government has nothing to do with him,” Vikas Swarup, then spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, had claimed.

On April 10, Army Chief, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa conﬁrmed his death sentence awarded by Field General Court Martial (FGCM).

The spy was tried under Pakistan Army Act (PAA) and awarded death sentence.

He confessed before a Magistrate and the Court that he was tasked by RAW to plan, coordinate and organize espionage / sabotage activities aiming to destabilize and wage war against Pakistan by impeding the efforts of Law Enforcement Agencies for restoring peace in Balochistan and Karachi.