Jadhav’s family was treated with dignity and respect, Asif tells Swaraj

Foreign minister says change of clothes, removal of jewellery was purely for security reasons

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad on Thursday dismissed fresh allegations by New Delhi that it had breached the understanding reached between the two sides over the meeting of the convicted Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav with his mother and wife that took place on December 25.

Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif – while responding to a statement from India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj – said the meeting was permitted on humanitarian grounds in line with Islamic teachings and traditions of compassion and grace.

He said the purpose of the visit was to let Commander Jadhav meet his wife and mother, and the purpose was successfully achieved despite all impediments. “This needs to be acknowledged,” he said in a statement.

The meeting was initially scheduled for 30 minutes, but was extended to 40 minutes on their request, said the minister, adding that the success of the meeting was evident from the fact that Jadhav’s mother thanked Pakistan after the visit.

Referring to the hue and cry in the Indian media questioning the modalities of the visit and advancing farfetched conspiracy theories about the change of clothes of the visitors, the retention of the shoe of the wife and the language in which the meeting was conducted, the foreign minister underscored that Pakistan’s humanitarian gesture did not obviate the fact that this was not an ordinary meeting between a mother and wife with their son and husband.



“The reality remains that Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav is a serving Indian Naval Officer and a convicted Indian terrorist and spy responsible for multiple deaths and destruction in Pakistan,” he maintained.

A comprehensive security check was therefore essential, he argued. This was agreed between both the countries, in advance, through diplomatic channels, he added.

The visitors were treated with respect and dignity, he said while rejecting all the Indian allegations.

The statement from Asif also said the change of clothes and removal of jewelry, ornaments, etc was purely for security reasons. The visitors put on their own clothes after the meeting, and all their belongings were returned to them before they left.

However, the foreign minister confirmed that the pair of shoes worn by Jadhav’s wife was retained as they did not clear the security check. A metal chip had been found in a shoe which was being analysed, he said.

He elaborated that many routine airport security checks for ordinary people “entail removal of crosses and veils”.



“Trying to distort an agreed security check and attempting to portray it as a deliberate religious or cultural disrespect denotes bad faith and was regrettable,” he said, adding, “It is unfortunate that the frenzied Indian media is driving Indian politics.”

The foreign minister further stressed that Pakistan had been open and transparent throughout the meeting, offered in good faith.

“We do not wish to indulge in fallacious accusations and blame game and should focus on the bigger positive outcome that the meeting happened despite immense challenges and impediments, instead of distortion of facts and baseless propaganda which vitiates the atmosphere and is counter-productive,” he said.

Asif’s rejoinder came in response to a statement made by Swaraj in the Indian parliament in which she alleged that “Pakistan made Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife and mother appear as widows to him, by forcing them to take off their mangalsutra, bindi and bangles".

This was done deliberately and was part of the condemnable intimidation by Pakistan of Jadhav's wife and mother, said the Indian external affairs minister. She also rejected "an absurdity beyond measure", Pakistan's allegation that there was a chip or a camera in the shoes of Jadhav's wife Chetankul.

"Thank God, they didn't say that there was a bomb in her shoes!" exclaimed the minister.

Swaraj also told the Rajya Sabha that she spoke to Jadhav's mother Avanti and she explained how the Pakistanis made her remove her ‘suhaag ki nishani’, i.e. the symbol of marriage, and that her voice was choking with tears.

"I begged them saying I've never taken off mangalsutra ever, but they said I have to," said Jadhav's mother as quoted by Swaraj.

"The first thing Kulbhushan said to me when I went in to meet him is 'how is baba' because he thought something had happened when he saw me without mangalsutra, bindi and bangles," Avanti explained to Swaraj.

"A meeting of a mother with her son and a wife with her husband was turned into a propaganda tool by Pakistan," said Swaraj.

At a weekly news briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal also defended measures taken during Jadhav’s meeting with his mother and wife.

“Let me assure you that we can win any argument on this as we have all the paperwork and record with us,” he said while referring to the Indian allegations that Pakistan violated the ground rules for the meeting.

“However, the intent and the purpose behind this gesture is very important and needs to be registered. It is unfortunate and sad that the Indian media is driving its politics and shaping public opinion for its nefarious designs,” Faisal added.