Congress leaders on Wednesday welcomed the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) verdict on former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav.
"Heartened by the #KulbhushanVerdict. At last justice has prevailed. All of India joins his family in their joy!" tweeted Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress general secretary in-charge of Eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed Patel termed the judgement, which grants consular access to Jadhav, as a "significant victory" for India.
"The ICJ verdict on #KulbhushanJadhav is a significant victory for India. My compliments to the government & our legal team for relentlessly pursing this case. Pakistan stands exposed for treating unfairly Mr. Jadhav in violation of the Vienna Convention," he tweeted.
"He should be released unconditionally, after the verdict, as Pakistan has no ground to stand on," read another tweet.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said the ICJ judgment did not address the safety and well being of Jadhav, who is currently in Pakistan.
"We welcome & celebrate the decision of the ICJ in holding Pakistan to be in stark violation of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention and staying the illegally ordered execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav! Satyamev Jayate!" he tweeted.
"Every Indian's concern for safety & well being of #kulbhushanJadav remains unaddressed! ICJ has authorised rogue Pak to- 1. Review & reconsider Jadav's case; 2. In a 'manner' and 'forum' of their choosing(Para 146). Leaves Jadhav vulnerable to another miscarriage of justice" Surjewala said in another tweet.
However, the Congress leader expressed disappointment after ICJ refused Jadhav's return to India.
"Refusal by ICJ to allow return of Jadhav to India is unnerving. Para 137-"it is not the conviction and sentence of Mr. Jadhav which are to be regarded as a violation of Article 36...these submissions made by India cannot be upheld" Urge the Govt to seek revision of this part!" he tweeted.
ICJ on Wednesday asked Pakistan to review its order of death sentence awarded to Jadhav on alleged charges of espionage and conspiracy against Pakistan.
The court also granted him consular access holding Pakistan guilty of violating Vienna Convention.
Jadhav, 49, was purportedly "arrested" from Balochistan by Pakistani security forces on March 3, 2016, after he allegedly entered the country from Iran as claimed by Islamabad.
India has held that Pakistan, which faces several problems on its border with Iran, has been using Jadhav's case to blame India for its problems in Balochistan. It has used proxy groups such as Jaish al Adl against Iran, while Iranian officials have spoken of Pakistan's sponsorship of terror activities along Iran-Pakistan border.
It was on March 25, 2016, that then Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, had informed the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad of Jadhav's "arrest."
Since then, Pakistan has not offered any explanation as to why Islamabad took over three weeks to inform the Indian High Commissioner about Jadhav's arrest.
Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on April 11, 2017.
Following this, India on May 8, 2017, approached the ICJ against Pakistan "for egregious violations of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963" in the matter.
India alleged that Pakistan is in breach of Article 36(1) (b) of the Vienna Convention, which obliged Pakistan to inform India of the arrest of Jadhav "without delay".
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