Kulbhushan Jadhav, Family Separated By Glass Screen in 35-Min Meet

After the meeting, Pakistan Foreign Ministry released a new video ‘confession’ by Jadhav.

Kulbhushan Jadhav met his wife and mother for the first time since his arrest last year.

(Photo: ANI)

Kulbhushan Jadhav met his wife and mother, for 30-35 minutes, from behind a glass screen at the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, on Monday, 25 December.

Jadhav’s family members were accompanied by the Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh and a Pakistani woman official. The family had arrived in Islamabad on Monday to meet the Indian prisoner on death row.

Note: Audio level is low in the above video.

Jadhav’s New ‘Confession’

Briefing the press after the meeting, Pakistan Foreign Ministry showed a video ‘confession’ by Jadhav. The video was apparently recorded before Jadhav met his family, reported Firstpost.

In it, Jadhav can be heard thanking the Pakistani government for its ‘grand gesture’.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said the country had chosen Father of the Nation Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s birth anniversary as the day for the “humanitarian meeting” between Jadhav and his kin.

When questioned about the reason for the glass barrier between Jadhav and his family, Faisal responded:

It was for security reasons, we had already told them that you will be able to meet him but a security barrier would be there. It was a humanitarian meeting, it was not consular access.

The Pakistan Foreign Ministry added that Indian diplomat JP Singh was present and could see the meeting but was not allowed to meet Jadhav. The spokesperson said that Pakistan extended the meeting by 10 minutes on Jadhav’s request.

A Step Forward, but Deeply Unsatisfactory: Shashi Tharoor

Commenting on the meeting, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said:

In one sense, it is a step forward because 22 months after they arrested this poor man, finally somebody is able to see him. 

Tharoor added that the the way the events unfolded was “deeply unsatisfactory”.

Does Govt Have Determination to Bring Back Jadhav: Tewari to PM

Congress leader Manish Tewari said on 25 December that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should bring back Jadhav, and asked if his government has the “determination to do so”.

Worried About Jadhav's Mental Well-Being: Harish Salve

Senior counsel Harish Salve, who argued Kulbhushan Jadhav's case in the International Court of Justice, said, on Monday, that he was disappointed at the meeting between Jadhav and and his mother and wife in Islamabad, and was concerned about his mental well-being.

In an interview with Republic TV, Salve said:

It was as if he was inviting people to come and hang him, saying he deserved to be shot and asking them to speed up the process. I am seriously concerned about his mental well-being and the state of mind he is in.

Salve also questioned the interaction Jadhav had with his family, "It was as if he was making scripted comments. The language that he spoke. Usually, when a man is emotional or angry, he speaks and abuses in his mother tongue. Here, he spoke in English. Why did he speak in English?”

Jadhav’s Kin at The Foreign Ministry

The Pakistan Foreign Office said Jadhav’s wife and mother travelled to Islamabad by a commercial flight, and would leave the same day after after spending barely seven hours in the country.

Media persons and OB vans outside Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.

Security deployed outside Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs premises in Islamabad.

Sharpshooters Deployed at Meeting Venue

Earlier in the day, Pakistani authorities said they had deployed sharpshooters at the foreign ministry's office where Jadhav met his family.

Roads leading to the Constitution Avenue, on which Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is located, had been closed for traffic.

Jadhav Not Granted Consular Access

Jadhav was not granted consular access, Pakistan media clarified quoting the Foreign Office. Earlier, it was reported that Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif had told Pakistan’s Geo News that he had been granted consular access.

Pakistan has repeatedly denied India consular access to Jadhav on the grounds that it was not applicable in cases related to spies.

However, India’s Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh accompanied Jadhav’s mother and wife to the meeting.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal tweeted:

Conflicting Claims

Pakistan on 20 December had issued visas to Jadhav's wife and mother to visit Islamabad to meet him. Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April, following which India moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in May. The ICJ halted his execution on India's appeal pending the final verdict by it.

Pakistan alleges that Jadhav is “not an ordinary person” as he had entered the country with the intent of “spying and carrying out sabotage activities”.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav alias Hussein Mubarak Patel from its restive Balochistan province on 3 March 2016, after he reportedly entered from Iran.

India, however, maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.

(With inputs from PTI)