Describing the verdict meted out by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case as a “comprehensive victory for India”, former union minister Arun Jaitley Thursday said Pakistan is now under a global gaze as to what direction it follows.
“Pakistan lost conclusively before the ICJ. It’s farcical processes through which innocent are held guilty, stand exposed. The ICJ has given Pakistan an opportunity to comply with the rule of law and reform its processes,” Jaitley said in a Facebook post.
The former finance minister further said a plain reading the judgment showed that India won on almost all counts. He also expressed surprise at the “official claim of Pakistan that the judgment is a Pakistani victory”.

On Wednesday, India won a legal and diplomatic victory over Pakistan after the ICJ ruled that Islamabad must review the death sentence for the Indian national. Jadhav was sentenced by a Pakistani military court on charges of “espionage and terrorism”.

The top UN court also affirmed that the former Navy officer’s right to consular access and slammed Pakistan for denying this. It made it clear that Jadhav’s death sentence should remain suspended until Pakistan effectively reviews and reconsiders the conviction and sentence in the light of its breach of Article 36—that is the denial of consular access and notification.
However, the court rejected India’s call to annul the military court decision and ensure his release and safe passage home. This means that Jadhav will not be free in the immediate term and the ball is in Pakistan’s court to decide his fate.