Jadhav ‘not to be hanged immediately’

Foreign Office says RAW colluding with terrorists in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Making it clear that convicted Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav is under no threat of immediate execution, the Foreign Office on Thursday announced details of his meeting with his mother and wife scheduled for December 25.

Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said the meeting would be arranged at his ministry. He said during his weekly briefing that Pakistan was also ready to permit media interaction with the wife and mother of Commander Jadhav. “We await Indian decision in this regard,” he added.

The decision to announce the venue and allow the media to interact with Jadhav’s family is significant given the secrecy involved in the case earlier. The move appears to be part of efforts to dispel Indian propaganda that due process of law was not followed in the case.

It is also apparently linked with the proceedings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). By allowing Jadhav’s family to meet him along with an Indian diplomat, Islamabad appears to have denied New Delhi an opportunity to build a case before the ICJ that Pakistan is not extending cooperation in the case.

On reports that this could be the last meeting of Jadhav with his family before his hanging, the spokesperson clarified: “Let me assure you that the commander is under no threat of immediate execution and his mercy petitions are still pending.”

He added, “The mother and wife of Commander Jadhav are being allowed a meeting with him in the light of Islamic traditions and on purely humanitarian grounds.”



Commenting on the new national security strategy of the United States that seeks greater role for India in Afghanistan, Faisal said New Delhi, under the garb of development assistance, was colluding with terrorist groups like the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Jamaatul Ahrar (JuA), and perpetrating acts of terrorism in Pakistan.

“RAW (Indian Research and Analysis Wing) has developed its nexus with Afghanistan-based terrorist groups, including TTP, JuA and ETIM (East Turkestan Islamic Movement), and is using these proxies to foment unrest in the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan,” he said. “We urge the Afghan government not to let its soil be used against its neighbours.”