ICJ's verdict in Kulbhushan Jadhav case

Ronny Abraham is a member of the ICJ since February 15, 2005. He is the president of the court since February 6, 2015.

"Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and the entire legal team which forcefully argued the Indian case before the International Court of Justice. They have done India proud", VHP international working president Pravin Togadia told PTI over phone. "We are confident that today's development will compel Pakistan to review its unreasonable stance whereby it has denied consular access to Jadhav, who is helplessly languishing in jail, without any resources to defend himself", he said. "We are sure that the government will see to it that Jadhav does not have to suffer for long. He has been falsely accused of spying and terrorism. We pray for his release and we are confident that he will come back home safe and soon", Togadia added.

In a big relief for India, the ICJ in the Hague in Holland today asked Pakistan to take all "necessary measures at its disposal" to ensure that Jadhav was not executed pending a final decision by it.

"We have won the first battle and have exposed Pakistan on the international forum as to how they have violated human rights," said Nikam, who has appeared as the special public prosecutor in several high-profile cases including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case. In Jadhav's case, the Pakistani court didn't follow the principles of natural justice, and even the ICJ observed that irreparable damage would be caused to India and Jadhav (if the sentence is executed), Nikam said.

Hailing the order as "major victory" for India, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said it has "exposed" Pakistan and exuded confidence that the final order too will be go in India's favour.

Calling ICJ ordering Pakistan to halt the execution of former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav as vindication of India's stand, Jaitly said secret trials are conspiratorial in nature and denial of consular access emphasized the point.

Salve, who took up the case 'pro bono' (free of charge), said India had "a lot at stake" in it and that he felt a "positive energy and connect with judges" while arguing the matter in which Pakistan did not seem to have the same.

Welcoming the verdict, BJP chief Amit Shah said it would also come as a big relief for the former Navy officer's family as he hailed the Modi government's quick and effective measures on the matter. In a statement, he also praised senior lawyer Harish Salve who was India's attorney at the Hague and argued the case before the global court.

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.

Government will do everything possible to save the life of Kulbhushan Jadhav, MEA said

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley hailed the International Court of Justice for staying the execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav by Pakistan saying rule of law has won. Jaitley, who is in Srinagar for the GST Council meeting, tweeted that the verdict came as a relief. "#ICJ verdict endorses the relevance and necessity of procedural and substantive fairness which was denied by Pakistan," he said in a series of tweets.He also complimented Harish Salve, who represented India at the ICJ at The Hague. "Well done! #HarishSalve - you have done India Proud."

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad welcomed the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) staying the execution of former naval officer Kulbhushan Jhadav and appealed to the government to ensure justice and his return to India.

Fire crackers were burst by Jadhav's friends in Lower Parel and by his neighbours outside his Silver Oak apartment building in Powai area. A sizable crowd, which had gathered outside the building, shouted slogans of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram'. "The prayers of 125 crore Indians have been answered. We thank the ICJ for delivering such a welcome ruling," Tulshidas Pawar, Jadhav's childhood friend, told PTI.

India has been 'trying to hide its real face' by taking the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav to ICJ. Pakistan will present solid evidence against Kulbhushan Jadhav.

ICJ's decision to stay the execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav gives people of India a deep sense of satisfaction and relief, Union home minister Rajnath Singh said.

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu termed the International Court of Justice verdict on alleged spy Kulbhushan Jadhav a "major victory" and said that India will seek consular access to Jadhav again. "It is a major victory for India in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case," Naidu tweeted. "We will be pursuing consular access for him. They are duty bound to give it.. They (Pakistan) are exposed. They have to respect the Vienna Convention," Naidu told reporters separately.

The ICJ's verdict came 10 days after India approached it, demanding the immediate suspension of the capital punishment given to the ex-Navy officer.

The decision of the 11-judge bench was unanimous, ICJ President Ronny Abraham said while reading out the verdict.

"It also unanimously decides that the court must be told of the measures Pakistan takes to implement this order," ICJ President Ronny Abraham said in the operative portion of the order which he read out in the open court for nearly 30 minutes.

Congress leader Manish Tewari said the Centre must use the ICJ decision as a trigger to bring Kulbhushan Jadhav back. ICJ has given a favorable decision

Following the ICJ verdict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is learnt to have spoken to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. He has expressed his satisfaction at today's order and the efforts of Harish Salve and the team

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ICJ?src=hash">#ICJ</a> PRESS RELEASE: Order in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/India?src=hash">#India</a> v. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pakistan?src=hash">#Pakistan</a> Case delivered today (provisional measures) <a href="https://t.co/fCj0yBhptd">https://t.co/fCj0yBhptd</a> <a href="https://t.co/SMVd41TrfM">pic.twitter.com/SMVd41TrfM</a></p> &mdash; CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) <a href="https://twitter.com/CIJ_ICJ/status/865158488590254080">May 18, 2017</a></blockquote>

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) today unanimously stayed Pakistan's execution of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav until it rules on the merits of the case. The ICJ ruled that Pakistan cannot execute Indian national Jadhav until it makes a final decision in the proceedings of the case.

The Hague: International Court of Justice to pronounce order in #KulbhushanJadhav case, shortly. pic.twitter.com/0UZM6t4cJN

&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) May 18, 2017

It is after 18 years that the two neighbours were fighting it out at the ICJ. Last time, Pakistan had moved the ICJ seeking its intervention over the shooting down of its naval aircraft.

At the ICJ, India is represented by its 'Agent' Deepak Mittal, who is the head of the Pakistan division in the external affairs ministry and the case is argued by its lead attorney Harish Salve.

Jadhav was arrested on March 3 last year and sentenced to death by the Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and subversive activities. While India asserted that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he was involved in business activities after retiring from the Indian Navy, Pakistan claims to have arrested Jadhav from its restive Balochistan province.

India is represented by its 'Agent' Deepak Mittal, who is the head of the Pakistan division in the external affairs ministry. The case is argued by its lead attorney Harish Salve. The Indian team is expected to be present at the time of the verdict.