Hailing the verdict of International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Kulbhushan Jadhav, currently on death row in Pakistan, former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday said the judgment is a "great victory" for India.
"I wholeheartedly welcome the verdict of the International Court of Justice in the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav. It is a great victory for India," she said in a series of tweet soon after the verdict.
The judgment, which grants him consular access, will provide the much-needed solace to his family members, she said during whose tenure India had actively pursued the case of Jadhav's conviction.
She also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for India's initiative to take up Jadhav's case with the ICJ and hailed Senior Counsel Harish Salve for presenting India's case before the ICJ "very effectively and successfully."
"I hope the verdict will provide the much-needed solace to the family members of Kulbhushan Jadhav," added Swaraj.
Dalbir Kaur, sister of Sarabjit Singh, who was killed in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail, also told ANI: "This is a big win for India. I congratulate Prime Minister Modi led government for reaching the ICJ and putting forth facts effectively. The most important thing is that Jadhav will also get a lawyer to fight his case now."
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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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