ICJ’s ruling on Kulbhushan Jadhav in our favour, is no doubt,a defining moment.A victory for international human rights. Kudos to Mr Harish Salve for his historic presentation in the court, a lawyers’ delight.
But, for India, it may be too premature to celebrate the verdict. It is going to be a long drawn-out process for India lasting several years.
While putting Jadhav’s death penalty on hold, the ICJ has directed Pakistan to allow consular access to him. He can move a plea for review of military Kangaroo court’s verdict on his execution.
The matter is not as simple as it is made out by Indian media especially TV channels. Pakistan is celebrating the verdict as the accused is still under their custody. No wonder, the frustrated Pakistan will make all out efforts to delay the process of implementing court’s verdict on flimsy grounds.
The ICJ is silent about transferring the case from Pak’s Kangaroo court (which had awarded death penalty to Jadhav) to a civilian court. Pakistan is a military state and not a democracy.
Its military can go to any extreme in obfuscating the legal issues before its captive military court. It will continue to treat Jadhav as a spy.
We cannot expect a fair trial from Pak’s military courts.
Will international pressure alone work on a rogue state like Pakistan? Jadhav case may linger on in Pakistani courts for years. Never expect Pakistan to return Jadhav to India on a platter.
Worse, the wounded Pakistan is bound to escalate with vengeance its terror activities in India. This calls for a disproportionately heavy (not matching) military response from India.
The bottom line is: India cannot get Jadhav released by Pakistan through legal and diplomatic efforts alone. Building international opinions in our favour, is important in world politics. But, will power of public opinions influence Pakistan’s decision ?
What will happen if the Pakistani military court decides after review to convert Jadhav’s death sentence into life sentence for 14 years?
Let us take lessons from history.International military sanctions may not help. India ,ultimately, will have to respond to Pakistan’s Armed Forces in their own lingo,if experiences in the past, is any guide.