Kulbhushan Jadhav was sentenced to death on April 11, 2017, by a Pakistani military court
A day after the International Court of Justice ordered Pakistan to review the death penalty to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, New Delhi on Thursday said the verdict is binding upon Islamabad and now it is time for them to act and provide consular access to the retired navy officer.
"The request for consular access has been pending for long. Pakistan is obliged to act on the directives of the International Court of Justice. The verdict is binding upon them and now it is time for them to act," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said this evening.
"When the court says immediate action, it means immediate and Pakistan should take immediate action. We are waiting for Pakistan to act," he was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.
Rejecting all objections raised by Pakistan, the world court or ICJ had ordered consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav "without further delay", agreeing with India's stand that Pakistan had violated the Vienna Convention by denying that.
However, Pakistan had claimed victory after the world court verdict. Its Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tweeted: "Jadhav shall remain in Pakistan. He shall be treated in accordance with the laws of Pakistan."
The foreign ministry spokesperson dismissed Pakistan's claims and said "it seems Pakistan is reading from a different verdict."
"Main verdict is in 42 pages, if there is no patience to go through 42 pages, they should go through 7-pages Press Release, where every point is in India's favour," Raveesh Kumar said.
Kulbhushan Jadhav was kidnapped by Pakistani agencies in 2016 from Iran where he was pursuing business interests. Pakistan claimed it had arrested the 49-year-old for spying and terrorism, charges that have been rubbished by India.
Kulbhushan Jadhav was sentenced to death on April 11, 2017, by a Pakistani military court in a closed trial that India said was farcical. India had also told the ICJ that it learned about the death sentence from a press release.
India moved the UN court in May 2017 and accused Pakistan of violating the Vienna Convention. The court ordered a stay on Jadhav's execution till the final verdict was delivered.
(With Inputs From IANS)