Mother, wife of Indian 'spy' appeared as widows: India
Indian minister for external affairs alleges Pakistan meeting harassed family of Kulbhushan Jadhav
FILE PHOTO - The Indian “spy” , who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court over espionage and sabotage charges, meets his mother (C) and wife (R) at Foreign Ministry Office in Islamabad, Pakistan on December 25, 2017. Jadhav (L) and his family members were separated by a glass screen as they talked to each other on phone. ( Islamuddin Sajid - Anadolu Agency )
By Shuriah Niazi
NEW DELHI, India
India's Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj reiterated her stance on Thursday that a meeting between an Indian on death row in Pakistan and his family was used by Islamabad as "a propaganda tool".
Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death in April by a military tribunal over allegations of working for the Indian intelligence, met his mother Avanti and wife Chetankul on Monday.
The 40-minute meeting, conducted through a glass screen at the Foreign Office in Islamabad, was portrayed as a humanitarian gesture by Pakistan.
Speaking in the Parliament, Swaraj alleged that Jadhav's wife and mother appeared as "widows" without their customary jewellery, bangles and bindis -- forehead dots worn by Hindu women.
"Avanti Jadhav choked up as she told me the first question her son asked was -- how is Baba (father)? Looking at me like this, he feared something bad had happened...he was reassured only when he saw his wife in the same state," said Swaraj, local broadcaster NDTV reported.
Refuting allegations that shoes that Jadhav's wife was wearing had a hidden camera or recorder, she said: "The same shoes passed checks by two airlines -- Air India and Emirates. As they enter Pakistan, they have chips?"
In a statement on Tuesday, India's External Affairs Ministry had said the meeting was conducted in an intimidating atmosphere, a charge Pakistan denies.
Jadhav, 47, was arrested in Mashkel, a town a few kilometers (miles) from the Iranian border. Pakistani officials have accused him of running a spy network from the Iranian port of Chabahar.
India had approached the International Court of Justice over the matter this May, which had asked Pakistan to stay Jadhav’s execution.
A petition for mercy to the military is pending.
