ISLAMABAD - An important meeting was held in the Attorney General of Pakistan’s office on Kulbhushan Jadhav’s fate in view of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order.

Sources shared with The Nation that the meeting was attended by foreign secretary, law secretary, JAG branch officials and other stakeholders. It is learnt that the meeting continued for more than five hours. However, it was decided that all representatives will again meet today to take final decision on legal strategy.

Kulbhushan Jadhav was awarded death sentence by a military court in Pakistan on April 10. India moved the ICJ against Pakistan, taking the plea that Islamabad has violated the Vienna Convention in the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav. According to Indian media, the ICJ has stayed the Jadhav’s execution.

According to Ahmer Bilal Soofi, an expert in international laws, it is incorrect to say that India has been granted ‘stay’ by the ICJ. He said that according to the Rules of the Court, interim relief can only be given once the application for provisional measures has been decided by the court.

Under Article 74 of the ICJ Rules, no provisional measure can be granted without an oral hearing involving both parties. This would involve the ICJ notifying all parties and setting dates for oral hearings before the court, he said. India has pleaded before the ICJ that on April 20 it had asked for consular access to Jadhav for the 15th time. India still awaits formal response from Pakistan to its two demands – consular access and details of the trial proceedings against Jadhav.