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Rekha Dixit
Rekha Dixit

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Kulbhushan Jadhav: Pak's coercion, lies and video tape

PAKISTAN-INDIA/ (File) Jadhav's meeting with his family was rather disastrous

It is as unbelievable as it can get. The new video that Pakistan has released, which shows Kulbhushan Jadhav lambasting the Indian deputy high commissioner, who accompanied his mother and wife to the Christmas day visit to him, is so clearly a video shot under duress. In the video, Jadhav is all praise for the Pakistani government which has “treated him well and arranged this meeting with his mother and wife.''

But Jadhav says he saw tears in his mother's eyes, which he attributes to the shoddy manner in which the high commission officer (deputy high commissioner J.P. Singh) shouted at his mother the moment she stepped out. “I saw his shouting, yelling at her,'' he says emphatically in the video, where he also adds that his commission with the Indian Navy is still intact. India has always referred to Jadhav as a former naval officer.

Jadhav's meeting with his family, videos of which Pakistan had released earlier, was with a thick glass screen between them. The 40-minute meeting was over intercom. Singh, whose brief was to accompany the women throughout their stay in Pakistan, was separated from them as they went into the room for the meeting. According to India, it was only after a lot of badgering that Singh finally got to be with the duo.

Jadhav, from his position behind the glass door, was not ideally located to see Singh shout at his mother after they left the room, post the meeting. Also, Jadhav refers to his mother as mummy, while as a Maharashtrian, he would most likely be calling her Aai. The Jadhav women were not allowed to talk to him in Marathi.

Responding to the video, in which Jadhav also says he saw fear in the eyes of his mother and wife and that they were threatened by the Indian high commission officer, the ministry of external affairs said, “This does not come as a surprise, Pakistan is simply continuing its practice of putting out coerced statements on video. It is time for them to realize that such propandistic exercises simply carry no credibility. The absurdity of a captive under duress certifying his own welfare while mouthing allegations of his captors clearly merits no comment.''

READ MORE: Meeting gone awry

India has also said Pakistan is best advised to fulfill its international obligations, whether it pertains to consular resolutions or UNSC resolutions 1267 and 1373 on terrorism and to desist from continuing violations of human rights of an Indian national.

Jadhav fell into the hands of Pakistan in April 2016. According to India he was in Chabahar region of Iran, after he had retired from the Navy while Pakistan claims that he was found in the Balochistan area. He has been sentenced to death by a military court in Pakistan. India's quick thinking and fast move to the International Court of Justice stalled a quick execution and has made the case come under international focus. The final decision on the case is pending.

Jadhav's meeting with his family was rather disastrous, with the two women being forced to change their clothes, and take off bindi and jewelry. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had told parliament that Jadhav was shocked at the appearance of his mother. His wife's footwear was confiscated on suspicion, and hasn't yet been returned.  

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