Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

India urges UN court to stop Pakistan executing 'spy'

The UN's top court will hold an emergency hearing on Monday as India seeks to stop Pakistan from executing an Indian national accused of spying.

New Delhi has already protested to Islamabad over the death sentence imposed on Kulbushan Sudhir Jadhav by a Pakistani military court, after he was found guilty in a closed hearing last month.


Jadhav was arrested in the southwestern province of Balochistan last year and Pakistani officials claim he has confessed to spying for Indian intelligence services.

But India has denied he was a spy, and this week lodged a protest with the International Court of Justice in The Hague accusing Pakistan of "egregious violations of the Vienna convention".

India was not informed of Jadhav's detention "until long after his arrest" and Pakistan "failed to inform" him of his rights, according to New Delhi.

India is seeking the "immediate suspension of the sentence of death awarded to the accused," the court said in a statement.

"India submits that it has information that Mr. Jadhav was 'kidnapped from Iran, where he was carrying on business after retiring from the Indian Navy'," it added.

The court "will hold public hearings on Monday 15 May ... in the proceedings instituted by the Republic of India on 8 May 2017 against the Islamic Republic of Pakistan", court officials said in a statement late Wednesday.

The hearing will be "devoted to the request for the indication of provisional measures" demanded by India which include ordering Islamabad "to take all measures necessary to ensure that (Jadhav) is not executed" until the court has had a chance to consider the case in full.

Nuclear arch-rivals India and Pakistan routinely accuse one another of sending spies into their countries, and it is not uncommon for either nation to expel diplomats accused of espionage, particularly at times of high tension.

However, death sentences have rarely been issued in recent years.

More For You

Former Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire enters House of Lords as Baroness

Thangam Debbonaire

Former Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire enters House of Lords as Baroness

FORMER Bristol MP Thangam Debbonaire has taken her seat in the House of Lords after being awarded a life peerage last month.

The 58-year-old, who represented Bristol West for Labour from 2015 until July’s general election, wore the traditional scarlet robes during her introductory ceremony. She will now be known as Baroness Debbonaire of De Beauvoir Town in the London Borough of Hackney.

Keep ReadingShow less
Samir Shah: BBC must do more to reflect UK's diversity
Dr Samir Shah

Samir Shah: BBC must do more to reflect UK's diversity

BBC chairman Samir Shah insisted that the corporation must do much more to ensure its staff reflects the country as a whole, as it needs more 'variety and diversity'.

He added that diversity should not be limited to ethnicity, where progress has been made, but should also include diversity of thought, particularly by including more voices from the northern working class.

Keep ReadingShow less
starmer-zelensky

Keir Starmer welcomed Volodymyr Zelensky to Downing Street last week.

UK played a key role as Ukraine ready to accept ceasefire proposal: Report

THE UK played a key role in facilitating discussions between Ukraine and the US over a proposed ceasefire with Russia, according to a report.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed readiness for a 30-day ceasefire but stated that it is up to the US to persuade Russia to agree. Talks on the proposal took place in Saudi Arabia.

Keep ReadingShow less
pakistan train siege reuters

A passenger, who was rescued from a train after separatist militants attacked it, receives medical aid at the Mach Railway Station in Mach, Balochistan, Pakistan, March 11, 2025. (Photo: Reuters)

Pakistan train siege: 155 hostages freed, 27 militants killed

PAKISTAN security forces launched a "full-scale" operation on Wednesday to rescue train passengers taken hostage by militants in the southwest, security sources said. Over the past 24 hours, 155 hostages have been freed.

The train, carrying more than 450 passengers, was seized at the entrance of a tunnel in a remote frontier district. An unknown number of hostages remain captive.

Keep ReadingShow less