Pak Used Jadhav Family Reunion As Propaganda Tool, Says Sushma Swaraj

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Dec 28, 2017:  Kulbhushan Jadhav was forced to see his mother and wife in the form of "widows", without their mangalsutra, bindi and bangles, when they met in Islamabad, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said in a stinging statement in parliament on the way the family was treated in Pakistan. "The first question that Kulbhushan Jadhav asked his mother  during their meeting in Pakistan was - is Baba (father) ok? Because looking at his mother like this, he thought something had happened."

Ms Swaraj said Pakistan used the emotional reunion after 22 months as a propaganda tool.

"There was violation after violation of human rights. Pakistan should be condemned in the strongest words for this behaviour," said the minister.

Yesterday, an angry opposition roundly condemned the way Pakistan treated the family of Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former navy officer sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of spying.

Mr Jadhav’s mother Avanti and wife Chetankul were forced to change and take off their mangalsutra, bindi and bangles for the 45-minute meeting on Monday tightly controlled by Pakistani officers. Chetankul Jadhav’s shoes were not returned by Pakistan, which claims there was "something metallic" in them and they are being examined by forensic experts.

Interacting with his family for the first time since his arrest last year by Pakistan, Mr Jadhav spoke across a glass screen through intercom. The family was not allowed to use their native Marathi language and according to relatives and friends, Mr Jadhav appeared to be speaking from a script.
 

After the meeting, the family was forced to wait for their car outside the Pakistan Foreign Office, which left them wide open for harassment by the Pakistani media. They faced questions like - "Aapke patidev ne hazaron begunah Pakistaniyo ke khoon se Holi kheli ispar kya kahengi? (your husband killed thousands of innocent Pakistanis, what do you have to say about that?)’" and "Aapke kya jazbaat hain apne kaatil bete se milne ke baad? (How do you feel after meeting your killer son?)".

A relative of the Jadhavs has said the family is "even more depressed" than they had been before the visit.

Political parties including Congress, Shiv Sena, Trinamool Congress and AIADMK, strongly protested in both houses of parliament yesterday. Members shouted slogans in the Lok Sabha of "Pakistan Murdabad (down with Pakistan)".

"We condemn the way Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother and wife were treated in Pakistan. Kulbhushan Jadhav should be brought back to the country," said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge in the Lok Sabha.

On India’s appeal in May, the World Court or the International Court of Justice ordered Pakistan to hold Mr Jadhav’s execution.

Courtesy: NDTV