Congress on Thursday said it was relieved at the International Court of Justice staying the execution of former Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav by Pakistan.

Congress was skeptical of the Modi government's decision to move the International Court of Justice. It had even cautioned the Centre that India ran the “risk” of opening itself to similar actions by Pakistan.

However, the ICJ decision appeared to have removed all doubts and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal even expressed readiness to accept Kulbhushan's brief once India got counsular access to him

“Once India gets consular access, there will be right of appeal, if any assistance is needed, I will be happy to help Kulbhushan's family,” Sibal, a noted lawyer, told reporters here.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma asked the international community to put enough pressure on Pakistan to ensure that it respected the ICJ order.

“We welcome the decision of the ICJ. It is a big relief, first step, and we hope that Pakistan respects that order,” Sharma told reporters here.

He said the Congress expected the Government to mount pressure on Pakistan to ensure that Jadhav's life was saved.

Sharma said India was forced to move the ICJ after a military court in Pakistan had unilaterally awarded death penalty to Jadhav without granting him consular access or any legal assistance.

Last week, Congress had pitched for a bilateral resolution to the issue “irrespective of however intransigent and badly behaved Pakistan was”.

The Congress had also asked the government if it had thought through all the ramifications of its decision to move the ICJ in the matter.

Ensure Pak respects ICJ order, says Congress; Sibal offers legal assistance