Pakistan Senate to debate ICJ verdict on Kulbhushan Jadhav case

Pakistan's Senate on Monday decided to debate the ICJ order staying the execution of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav after a senator of a hardline party tabled a motion saying the verdict hinted that Islamabad was not fully prepared to fight the case.

Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani admitted the adjournment motion by Jamaat-I-Islami Senator Sirajul Haq for regular debate, and issued notices to the foreign ministry and the attorney general to brief the upper house of the parliament.

Haq made a forceful plea in the Senate about his motion, saying the judgment by the International Court of Justice to stay Jadhav's death sentence hinted that Pakistan was not well-prepared to fight the case brought by India. "These and similar statements have been passed around, which are creating confusion," Haq said.

On May 18, the ICJ in a setback to Pakistan restrained it from executing Jadhav, 46, who was convicted of espionage and sentenced to death by a Pakistan military court after a secret trial. India took the matter to the ICJ, citing that it had been denied consular access to Jadhav in violation of the Vienna Convention.