ISLAMABAD: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will announce its verdict in the Indian spy Kulbushan Jadhav case on Wednesday.
Jadhav, an Indian Navy officer, was arrested on March 3, 2016, by Pakistan authorities when he attempted to cross over into the country from the Saravan border in Iran while in pursuit of targets set by his RAW handlers.
In his subsequent trial at the military court, Jadhav confessed to his involvement in terrorist plots.
The army chief on April 10, 2017, had endorsed the death penalty for Jadhav. However, the ICJ ordered a stay in his execution.
In June 2017, the Indian spy filed a mercy petition against the death penalty in which he confessed to his involvement in espionage and terrorist plots.
It’s going to be for the first time that a 16-judge bench of ICJ, led by Justice Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, would decide whether consular access should be given to the spy or not.
Former chief justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani is also an ad hoc judge in this case. India’s Dalveer Bhandari, who is a permanent judge, is also a member of the bench.
In five cases, the ICJ gave consular access to the applicable state but it’s the first case, wherein the ICJ will determine whether or not the spy should be given consular access.
Barrister Khawar Qureshi argued on behalf of Pakistan while Harish Salve gave oral submission on behalf of India.