New Delhi/Islamabad, July 18 (IANS) "India bites the dust", "India served RAW justice", "Pakistan vindicated" - were among the screaming headlines of Pakistani dailies on Thursday, a day after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on Kulbhushan Jadhav.
As India celebrated the ICJ ruling, which stayed the death sentence on the Indian national and directed that he be allowed immediate consular access, Twitterati from both India and Pakistan took strong positions on the ruling, attacking the other side on the social media platform and claiming victory in the case.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi termed the ruling a victory for Islamabad as the court had not ruled for Jadhav's release, though Prime Minister Imran Khan voiced appreciation for the ICJ ruling.
Pakistan Today ran the banner headline "India served RAW justice", alluding to Pakistan's claim that Jadhav is an agent of India's external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
The Tribune of Pakistan ran the banner headline "Pakistan Vindicated", while the Daily Times' headline read "India bites the dust".
The News wrote "No Retrial, No Release", ignoring the fact that the ICJ ruled for continued stay on Jadhav's execution, which it said would "constitute an indispensable condition for the effective review and reconsideration" of his sentence and conviction.
The Dawn was more practical, with the headline "ICJ rejects Indian plea for Jadhav's acquittal, release". The Nation wrote "Pakistan wins Jadhav case at UN court".
The ICJ judgment also saw Union Minister Giriraj Singh take a jibe at the Pakistani government for tweeting the court ruling as a big win. "Not your fault.. judgment delivered in English," he retorted.
While Pakistan has been claiming victory in the ICJ not ruling in favour of Jadhav's release, it has apparently forgotten that one of the clauses India put forth at the top UN court was that in case Jadhav was not to be released, then Pakistan should be restrained from executing the death sentence awarded by a military court.
"In the alternative, and if this Court were to find that Jadhav is not to be released, then restrain Pakistan from giving effect to the sentence awarded by the military court, and direct it to take steps to annul the decision of the military court, as may be available to it under the laws in force in Pakistan, and direct a trial under the ordinary law before civilian courts, after excluding his confession that was recorded without affording consular access, in strict conformity with the provisions of the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), with full consular access and with a right to India to arrange for his legal representation," India had said in its application in the world court.
India also urged that the court declare that the death sentence on Jadhav, "arrived at by a Pakistani military court, in brazen defiance of the Vienna Convention rights" and "in defiance of elementary human rights of Jadhav is "violative of international law and the provisions of the Vienna Convention".
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