Wife, mother meet convicted Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav in Pakistan

• Jadhav says he is thankful to Pakistan 

• FO says India’s silence on the matter is telling

• ‘Pakistan permitted Indian spy to meet his family members on humanitarian grounds’

ISLAMABAD: Kulbhushan Jadhav’s wife and mother met the Indian spy, who is on death row, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after arriving in Islamabad on Monday morning via a commercial flight.

Jadhav’s mother, Avanti, and wife, Chetankul, made a stop at the Indian High Commission prior to the 40-minute-long meeting with the spy amid elaborate security arrangements.

Avanti and Chetankul Jadhav were accompanied by Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh and three Indian foreign ministry officials, according to Indian media reports. Dr Fareha Bugti represented Pakistan in the meeting.

During the meeting, only Jadhav’s family members were present with him, while Singh and FO officials, who were monitoring the meeting, were outside the room.

Jadhav’s mother Avanti Jadhav and wife Chetankul Jadhav underwent a security check before being taken to the room for their meeting. After the meeting, Jadhav’s family was taken to the Indian High Commission.

In a tweet, Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal shared a photo of the mother and wife of Jadhav sitting in the Foreign Office.

“The mother and wife of Commander Jadhav sitting comfortably in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pakistan. We honour our commitments,” he tweeted.

The mother and wife of Commander Jadhav sitting comfortably in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pakistan . We honour our commitments pic.twitter.com/hILiMyp7Zl

— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) December 25, 2017

Jadhav’s wife and mother later took a delayed flight back to India Monday evening.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said Pakistan permitted the convicted Indian spy to meet his family members on humanitarian grounds on the day of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s birth.

India has requested that the family should not have any interaction with the media, the FO spokesperson said.

JADHAV ‘THANKS’ PAKISTAN:

In a pre-recorded video message played at the FO after the meeting, Jadhav thanked the Pakistani government for arranging the meeting. He said that Pakistani authorities have treated him in a dignified, respectful and professional manner, for which he is thankful.

The Indian spy, in the video, again confessed to working for Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). He added that he had been arrested in Balochistan while attempting to infiltrate the country from Iran.

‘NO CONSULAR ACCESS TO JADHAV’:

Pakistan has issued visas to Jadhav’s wife and mother on “humanitarian grounds”, and has consistently denied consular access to him, as the Vienna Convention does not apply to those involved in espionage, said FO Spokesperson Dr Faisal.

“The presence of JP Singh at today’s meeting should not be considered as consular access,” Dr Faisal said.

Indian media, however, reported that the meeting between Jadhav and his family members constitutes as “consular access” after Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif on a private media outlet show had said that the meeting is a “concession”.

Indian media cited Asif as saying that the reason the meeting is taking place is because Pakistan didn’t want India to create the impression that Jadhav was denied access to his family, especially since the spy’s case is currently being heard at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The Indian media report quoted Asif as saying: “We didn’t want any weakness in our case in the ICJ over the meeting… We have allowed access to Jadhav’s family purely on a humanitarian basis. However, if we were in the same place, India wouldn’t have been so kind to us.”

‘NOT INDIAN SPY’S LAST MEETING’:

Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal at a press conference after Kulbhushan Jadhav’s meeting with his family members said it was not the Indian spy’s last meeting.

“This meeting has nothing to do with the case pending before the International Court of Justice or with politics,” Dr Faisal said.

“Jadhav’s wife and mother were both our guests,” he said, adding: “They came and left in an honourable fashion.”

“As Jadhav’s wife and mother were leaving, they thanked Pakistan, the FO, me, my team,” Dr Faisal said. “They were satisfied with the meeting.”

“It was around 35 minutes long. Jadhav requested that it may be extended a little bit,” so it ran to about 40 minutes, the FO spokesperson said.

“They spoke openly during the meeting,” Dr Faisal said, adding that the Indian High Commissioner JP Singh, who accompanied Avanti and Chetankul Jadhav, was present outside the meeting room and did not hear the conversation that took place between the family members.

“We fulfilled the promises we made to them.”

According to a private media outlet, Jadhav’s wife and mother also brought a gift for him, which is yet to be handed over to him.

The FO spokesperson also presented a medical report for Jadhav that showed he is in “good health” and “everything is normal”.

The FO spokesperson said Pakistan would have preferred if Jadhav’s wife and mother had spoken to Pakistani media.

“This was done in the spirit that Pakistan has nothing to hide and, like all of you, seeks the answers to many questions that remain unanswered,” he added.

“One good deed should beget another, and such a decision should serve as a template for others to follow, including in Indian Held Kashmir, where innocent blood continues to be spilled,” he suggested.

‘FACE OF INDIAN TERRORISM IN PAKISTAN’:

The FO spokesperson described the Indian spy as “the face of Indian terrorism in Pakistan” and detailed his confessions before the press.

Jadhav had admitted to involvement in the assassination of senior superintendent of police Chaudhry Mohammed Aslam Khan in Karachi in 2014, the targeting of Frontier Works Organisation activities in Balochistan, and improvised explosive device attacks in Quetta, Turbat and other cities in Balochistan, the FO spokesperson said.

The spy also confessed to supporting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other groups, especially in the attack on the Mehran Naval Base, various radar installations and the Sui gas pipeline attack, all of which were directly funded by Indian intelligence agency Research Analysis Wing, Dr Faisal said.

The FO spokesperson said India had been presented with a copy of the passport in Jadhav’s possession when he was arrested. The passport showed he had travelled in and out of India 17 times, he added.

“Indian silence is telling,” he asserted. “There is a list of 15 names we have given to India asking for details on them.”

After completion of the investigation into Jadhav, Pakistan offered to allow his wife to visit him, after which India requested that his mother also be permitted to meet him, the FO spokesperson said, and the request was subsequently granted.

Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer, was arrested in Pakistan on espionage charges.

He was captured by security forces on March 3, 2016, in Balochistan and sentenced to death by a military tribunal earlier this year for his involvement in terrorism and espionage.

His appeals against the conviction have been rejected by the military appellate court and his mercy petition has been lying with Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.

India has challenged Pakistan’s refusal to grant consular access to the spy in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The ICJ is hearing the case and has restrained the Pakistan government from executing Jadhav until it decides the case.