New Delhi: Kulbhushan Jadhav’s fate will be decided by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday, when it will pronounce its verdict on his case.
The pronouncement will come three days after it had heard arguments from both India and Pakistan.
Agencies citing government sources said that the international court will give its verdict around 3.30 pm (IST) on Thursday.
During its submission, India had demanded the immediate suspension of Jadhav’s death sentence, expressing fears that Pakistan could execute him even before the hearing at the ICJ was over.
India’s forceful submission was made as the ICJ began hearing the case of the 46-year-old former Navy officer, who was arrested on March 3 last year and sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and subversive activities.
The Jadhav case was taken to the world court on May 8 by India, which accused Pakistan of violating the Vienna Convention and conducting a “farcical trial” for convicting Jadhav without a “shred of evidence”.
On its part, Pakistan told the ICJ that consular access were not intended for a “spy” involved in terror activitiesand charged India with using the world body as a stage for "political theatre" in the Jadhav case.
The two neighbours last had a face-off at the ICJ 18 years ago when Islamabad sought its intervention over the shooting down of its naval aircraft.
