ICJ Jadhav order not a victory for India by any means: Pakistan
- Pakistan's ICJ lawyer Qureshi criticised India and the media for running a vicious and baseless campaign.
- "The order issued by the ICJ is just a procedural order. Not a victory for India by any means," Qureshi said.
- "The ICJ has only asked Pakistan to stay Jadhav's execution until final verdict" Sartaj Aziz also confirmed.
FollowIndia cannot claim victory in Kulbhushan Jadhav's case at the International Court of Justice as the court has issued "just a procedural order", the lawyer who represented Pakistan in the case has said.
Khawar Qureshi said Jadhav's case is more about political point scoring than about the law. "The order issued by the ICJ is just a procedural order to enable full hearing. It certainly is not a victory for India by any means," Geo TV quoted Qureshi as saying.
"It was very clear that the court didn't want to hear about the merits or the jurisdiction. The court wanted to be satisfied whether commander Jadhav had been denied consular access, which he had," he said.
Qureshi criticised the Indian government and the media for running a vicious and baseless campaign against him.
"It is very disappointing that India should stoop to this level. I understand that someone said I had charged 720,000 in legal fees pounds. Where did this figure come from? This is nonsense," he lamented.
He also cautioned the Pakistani media not to pick up everything India is saying.
"My fees were not even 10 per cent of what the Indian propaganda suggests. I cancelled another professional commitment with another government to travel to Pakistan urgently. I gave a 30 per cent reduction on my fees, besides covering the cost of two of my juniors' fees," he added.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has not given any order regarding consular access for Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death according to the laws of Pakistan, the country’s top diplomat said on Saturday.
"The ICJ has only asked Pakistan to keep a stay on Jadhav's execution until it arrives at a decision," Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's adviser on foreign affairs, Sartaj Aziz, said. Addressing a press conference, Aziz said that when it comes to cases involving the death penalty, the international court has always given a stay order. He said the ICJ has not decided on consular access either and has only intimated that the matter will come under discussion.
Aziz claimed that Kulbhushan Jadhav was not an ordinary Indian civilian, but he was “an officer in the Indian navy who has also admitted to carrying out espionage activities in Pakistan”. Jadhav was sentenced according to the laws of Pakistan after he admitted to entering the country on fake passport and involvement in terror activities, the top diplomat added. Responding to questions about the legal team representing Pakistan, Aziz said they had “only five days to prepare for the appearance... The decision to send Khawar Qureshi was a unanimous one”.
He, however, added that Pakistan will further strengthen its legal team and that it will go forward into the case with full preparation. “We will go with a strong team in the next hearing,” he added. Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from its restive Balochistan province on 3 March last year after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains that he was kidnapped from Iran, where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian navy. Jadhav’s case is the latest flashpoint in the tensions between Pakistan and India.
