Kulbhushan Jadhav case: Why Pak's lawyer is not happy with Indian media

Khawar Qureshi also said he was hopeful that the ICJ would dismiss the case by year-end

If Pakistan was shocked by the International Court of Justice's (ICJ's) verdict in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, India's statements following the verdict have really earned Islamabad's ire. However, aside from Pakistan, Britain-based lawyer Khawar Qureshi, who represented Pakistan in the case, has also taken umbrage with the Indian media's coverage of the case. 

Qureshi told a private TV channel on Sunday said that India had not won the case. Speaking to The Nation, Qureshi said, "ICJ will never acquit Jadhav...." Qureshi also said he was hopeful that the ICJ will dismiss Jadhav's case by the end of this year or early 2018. 

On Thursday, the ICJ ordered Pakistan to stay the execution of Jadhav until a final decision in the proceedings.

India cannot claim victory

India cannot claim victory in the Jadhav case at the ICJ as the court has issued "just a procedural order", Qureshi said. He added that 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 consulor access, which he had," he said. 

Qureshi thinks the Indian media has targeted him

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 pounds in legal fees. 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.

Qureshi and India have a past

The Pakistani-origin lawyer had been hired by the UPA government in 2004 to argue an arbitration case between India and US energy giant Enron, which closed operations in 2001.

Reportedly, law firm Fox Mandal had recommended Qureshi for this case, in which Enron had claimed $6 billion against the Indian government.

The Congress-led UPA government had changed the legal team representing India in the arbitration case against the US firm over the controversial Dabhol power project. 

Last week, the Bharatiya Janata Party picked up on this to lash out at the Congress. Before Qureshi was appointed, former solicitor general of India Harish Salve, who is representing India in the Jadhav case, was representing India in the case against Enron.