​Kulbhushan Jadhav case: ICJ sets February 2019 for hearing

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has set a week in February next year for the hearing of former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage. The world court will hear the case daily for a week in February, PTI said, quoting Geo TV reports.

Jadhav, 47, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April, following which India moved the ICJ in May. A 10-member bench of the ICJ on May 18, 2017 had restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav till adjudication of the case.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav, alias Hussein Mubarak Patel, from its restive Balochistan province after he reportedly entered from Iran. In its submission, Pakistan had stated that Jadhav is not an ordinary person as he had entered the country with the intent of spying and carrying out sabotage activities.

India, however, maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy. In its written pleadings, India had accused Pakistan of violating the Vienna Convention by not giving consular access to Jadhav arguing that the convention did not say that such access would not be available to an individual arrested on espionage charges.