Reprieve for jadhav

Reprieve for jadhav

ICJ rules in India’s favour, orders Pakistan to review death sentence.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is in Pakistani custody, has the right to consular access and that Islamabad should review its death sentence against him. It will be recalled that in 2016 Jadhav was abducted from Iran and sentenced to death by a secretive Pakistani military court for alleged espionage and subversive activities. But the proceedings of the Pakistani trial were opaque and no concrete evidence was provided by Islamabad to establish the charges against Jadhav. On the contrary, Pakistan has consistently denied consular access to Jadhav despite India repeatedly asking for this.

Pakistani authorities have tried to paint Jadhav as an Indian Ajmal Kasab. But drawing any equivalence between the Pakistani terrorist who directly killed scores of Indian citizens during the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai and Jadhav is ridiculous. Moreover, Pakistan has resorted to extremely dubious procedures to sentence him. As Pakistan shelters terrorists on its own soil, it simultaneously employs a variety of tactics to ward off growing international pressure. The Pakistani military court’s sentencing of Jadhav was a part of this design to show that Islamabad too is a victim of terrorism.

But the ICJ has called Pakistan’s bluff. It has charged Pakistan with violating the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. To rectify this, Pakistan must grant consular access to Jadhav immediately. Plus, it is also clear that a review of Jadhav’s sentence cannot be trusted to a Pakistani military court whose procedures do not meet the test of justice. Thus, Pakistan should move the case to a civilian court and provide Jadhav all legal opportunities in an open trial. If it doesn’t do so after this ICJ verdict, it will only confirm Pakistan’s rogue status.