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Satyamev Jayate! Virender Sehwag hails ICJ's order telling Pakistan not to hang Kulbhushan Jadhav before final verdict

A Pakistani military court sentenced Jadhav to death last month.

Satyamev Jayate! Virender Sehwag hails ICJ's order telling Pakistan not to hang Kulbhushan Jadhav before final verdict

New Delhi: Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag on Thursday hailed the ruling of International Court of Justice (ICJ), which unanimously stayed Pakistan's execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav until it rules on the merits of the case. The Indian batting great lauded the move as triumph of truth.

A 11-judge bench of ICJ today agreed with India that there was urgency in the case, and "Pakistan shall take all measures at its disposal to ensure that Mr Jadhav is not executed pending the final decision in these proceedings."

Soon after the verdict, the 38-year-old took to social media site Twitter and wrote "Satyamev Jayate" using hashtag #KulbhushanJadhav.

Later, the Sultan of Multan took an exception to join an online debate after a derogating tweet which emanated from Pakistan claimed that no matter what the ICJ's ruling was, Jadhav will be hanged.

Sehwag advised Pakistan not to thrive on misunderstanding. In the same tweet, he drew parallel to Pakistan's unfulfilled World Cup dream of beating India with that of their craving for hanging Jadhav.

In its ruling, the top UN court also asked Pakistan to give consular access to Jadhav, rejecting Pakistan's argument that a person convicted of espionage is not entitled to it.

Sehwag's invocation of "Satyameva Jayate", which is India's national motto, itself lends a profound dimension to the Jadhav saga. The motto, used in various aspects of life talks about national doctrine that "Truth alone triumphs; not falsehood."

And it comes as no surprise as India continue to fight for the safe release of 47-year-old Jadhav. India claim that he was "an innocent Indian national, who, incarcerated in Pakistan for more than a year on concocted charges ... has been held incommunicado... and faces imminent execution."

Today's ruling was read out by the president of the UN court, Ronny Abraham.

Jadhav was arrested in March 2016 and Pakistani officials claimed that he had confessed to spying for Indian intelligence services.

A Pakistani military court sentenced Jadhav to death last month.