Sushma Swaraj calls the ICJ verdict a 'great victory' for India; thanks Harish Salve

New Delhi: Former foreign minister Sushma Swaraj Wednesday welcomed the verdict delivered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) asking Pakistan to review the death penalty given to former Indian Navy commander Kulbhushan Jadhav in 2017. India had asked the UN court to intervene in the case, as it said Jadhav had been given an unfair trial and had been denied diplomatic assistance by Pakistan.

In a series of tweets, Swaraj said she was confident that the verdict will provide solace to family members of Jadhav.

"I wholeheartedly welcome the verdict of International Court of Justice in the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav. It is a great victory for India. I thank the Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi for our initiative to take Jadhav's case before International Court of Justice. I thank Mr.Harish Salve for presenting India's case before ICJ very effectively and successfully. I hope the verdict will provide the much-needed solace to the family members of Kulbhushan Jadhav."

More importantly, the world court also asserted that Pakistan violated the Vienna Convention, adding that India has right to consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav. It said Pakistan deprived India of the right to communicate with and have access to Jadhav and thereby breached obligations incumbent upon it under Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

The court found by 15 votes to 1 that Pakistan had breached Jadhav's rights under the Vienna convention on consular relations by not allowing Indian diplomats to visit him in jail, according to the document.

The verdict in the high-profile case comes nearly five months after a 15-member bench of ICJ led by Judge Yusuf had reserved its decision on February 21 after hearing oral submissions by India and Pakistan. The proceedings of the case took two years and two months to complete.

(With inputs from Indian Express)