Jadhav case: First 'International Court of Justice' stay, now Iran demands access

New Delhi/Quetta: While there was cautious optimism that Pakistan may have been stopped from making any move to execute the Indian naval officer whom they allege is a spy, India's External Affairs Ministry said Wednesday it moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the issue of retired Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav as he is in illegal detention in Pakistan and because his life was under threat.

The International Court of Justice at the Hague had Tuesday stayed the execution of Jadhav. The order had come a day after India approached it against the death sentence handed down to Jadhav.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said the decision was taken in the case "after careful deliberation". He said India made 16 requests for consular access to Jadhav but there was no response from Pakistan on the demand.

Matters may have become further complicated with Iran also seeking access to alleged Indian spy from Pakistan. A day after the International Court of Justice suspended the death sentence on Kulbhushan Jadhav by a Pakistani military court, it was revealed on Wednesday that Iran has sent a request to Pakistan to get access to the alleged Indian spy for interrogation. Notably, Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he was involved in business activities after retiring from the Indian Navy but Pakistan claimed to have arrested him from Balochistan on March 03, 2016.

Daily Pakistan has quoted BBC as saying that Iranian Council General Muhammad Rafi, during a press conference in Quetta, said that no development was made on the request so far, as negotiations are underway.

Pakistan has alleged that Jadhav worked for the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) fuelling the Baloch separatist movement and attempting to sabotage the CPEC project.A military court sentenced him to death on April 10 on charges of espionage and waging war against Islamabad.

India's legal representative Harish Salve has told the ICJ that Islamabad has not responded to India's request for papers relating to Jadhav's case.

There is also no information on the status of appeal by Jadhav's family against the order of a Pakistan military court which sentenced him to death on charges of "spying". Baglay also said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had written to Pakistan Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz on April 27 requesting a visa for Jadhav's family.