The International Court of Justice in Hague has put a freeze on the death sentence given by Pakistan to Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian national it accused of spying. A letter has been sent to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in this regard. The International Court's response came after an appeal from India, which accused Pakistan of "egregious violations of the Vienna Convention" and sought a stay on Jadhav's death sentence. An official statement from the Ministry of External Affairs is awaited.
Pakistan claimed that Jadhav was arrested from the restive Balochistan province last year on March 3. A military court sentenced him to death, alleging he was working as a spy for intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing or RAW. Pakistan also claimed that he was "a serving officer in the Indian Navy."
India has rubbished the claims, saying Jadhav, a retired Navy officer, was kidnapped from Iran where he was running a business. Pakistan has turned down 16 requests from India for consular access to Jadhav. His mother of has filed an appeal at a higher court in Pakistan.
