ICJ stay order binding on Pak: MEA

India on Thursday asserted that the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) stay order on the execution of former navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav is binding on Pakistan. The assertion came within minutes of Pakistan’s claim that it doesn’t accept the ICJ’s jurisdiction on matters of national security.

“The order by the ICJ is unanimous, favourable, clear and unambiguous. The verdict is a matter of great relief for the people of the country. It is legally binding on Pakistan,” Gopal Baglay, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, said here. With India seeing the ICJ’s provisional ruling as a big diplomatic win over Pakistan, Baglay said the government would not leave any stone unturned to ensure justice for Jadhav and the provisional relief from the ICJ was the first step. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made the same promise in Parliament in the last session.

Baglay said the Indian government didn’t have any idea whether Jadhav had been able to make an appeal against the Pakistani military court’s ruling awarding him death sentence. A Pakistani official had earlier claimed that the last day for filing the appeal would expire on May 19. With 16 requests for consular access pending before the Pakistani authorities, India is unlikely to make a fresh request post ICJ ruling. Similarly, there would not be any fresh visa application from Jadhav’s parents.

Asked what step India would take if Pakistan did not obey the ICJ directive, Baglay said, “It was a legally binding order and we assume every country would follow the law.”

However, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said in a TV interview that Pakistan conveyed to the ICJ that it does not accept its jurisdiction in matters related to its national security.