However diplomats said that ordering Mr. Jadhav’s release was never really an expectation from the ICJ. “This was a big victory, and as much as India would have hoped for at this stage,” said Gautam Bambawale, explaining that “the ICJ never gives directions beyond its authority as it cannot implement them.” Mr. Bambawale was the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan in March 2016, when Mr. Jadhav was arrested by the Pakistan government for ‘spying’ and allegedly plotting terror acts in Balochistan, and had made several appeals to Pakistan for access to Mr. Jadhav at the time. Subsequently, Pakistan held a secret trial in a military court, where evidence and processes were not made public. On May 8, 2017, after the Pakistan court convicted and sentenced Mr. Jadhav, India went to the ICJ.
