India decided to move the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the issue of former naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav as he is in illegal detention and his life is under threat in Pakistan, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday.
On India's plea, the ICJ at the Hague on Tuesday stayed the execution of Jadhav. He was sentenced to death by a Pakistan military court on the charge of “spying,”
MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay said the decision was taken after careful deliberation. He pointed out that India made 16 requests for consular access to Jadhav but there was no response from Pakistan on the demand.
“Islamabad has also not responded to India’s request for papers relating to his case,” he noted.
There was also no information on the status of appeal by Jadhav’s family against the execution order, he said.
Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj had written to Pakistan Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz on April 27 requesting visa for Jadhav’s family.
The ICJ order came a day after India approached the world court against the death sentence.
