'Will proceed as per law', says Pak after Kulbhustan Jadhav verdict

Pakistan on Wednesday said that it will proceed as per law in the Kulbhustan Jadhav case, following the judgement by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Islamabad must review and reconsider the death sentence of the Indian national.

A statement by the spokesperson for Pakistan Foreign Office claimed that the country has "upheld its commitment" from the very beginning of the case as a "responsible member" of the Internal community.

However, the world court today held Pakistan guilty of violating Vienna Convention.

"Pakistan, as a responsible member of the International community, upheld its commitment from the very beginning of the case by appearing before the honourable court for the provisional measures hearing despite a very short notice. Having heard the judgment, Pakistan will now proceed as per law," the statement read.

The ICJ on Wednesday asked Pakistan to review its order of death sentence awarded to Jadhav on alleged charges of espionage and conspiracy against Pakistan.

Jadhav, 49, was purportedly "arrested" from Balochistan by Pakist 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 Iran 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 Pakist 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".

( With inputs from ANI )