Separated by glass screen, Jadhav meets wife, mother
Pak carefully choreographs event, releases video
Kulbhushan Jadhav, on death row in Pakistan for alleged spying, on Monday met his wife and mother — but separated by a glass screen — in a carefully choreographed event that unfolded in tweets, photos and TV footage. Pakistani officials said the glass barrier was necessitated due to security concerns.
The 40- minute meeting, which took place after many representations, was held at the heavily guarded Foreign Affairs Ministry building, and came after the Haguebased International Court of Justice ( ICJ) asked Pakistan in May to stay 47- year- old Jadhav’s execution.
The foreign office also issued a new video message of Jadhav in which he is seen thanking the Pakistan government for arranging a meeting with his wife and mother. It was the first time that Jadhav was meeting his family since his arrest in March, and Pakistan portrayed it as a humanitarian gesture to mark the birthday of the country’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
“Pakistan permits the meeting of wife and mother of Commander Jadhav with him, as a humanitarian gesture, on the birthday of the Father of the nation, Quaid- e- Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah,” foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal tweeted.
The tweet made it a point to identify Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer, with his military title. Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from its restive Balochistan province after he reportedly entered from Iran. It claims that he was in possession of an Indian passport that identified him as Hussein Mubarak Patel.
India, however, maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.
Faisal also tweeted that the meeting was arranged in light of “Islamic traditions and based on purely humanitarian grounds”. Dr Fareha Bugti attended the meeting for Pakistan while India deputy high commisioner J. P. Singh represented his country. They were, however, not allowed to sit close enough to listen to the family’s conversation.
TV footage showed Jadhav’s mother Avanti and wife Chetankul entering the ministry building’s Agha Shahi Block.