New Delhi: India has reacted strongly to the way Pakistan government conducted the meeting between jailed Indian Kulbhushan Jadhav and his wife and mother.
“We note with regret that the Pakistani side conducted the meeting in a manner which violated the letter and spirit of our understandings,” a Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said. According to the MEA spokesperson there were clear understandings between the two sides and the Indian side scrupulously abided by all its commitments.
The two governments were in touch through diplomatic channels as to how the meeting would be conducted. India charged Pakistan with disregarding cultural and religious sensibilities of the family members.
According to sources, the family members were asked to remove mangalsutra, bangles, bindi and shoes; they were also asked to change their clothes.
The meeting was conducted without the presence of JP Singh, India’s Deputy High Commissioner to Pakistan. He could only join the meeting after haranguing Pakistani officials. Worse Singh was kept behind an additional partition which prevented him from accessing the meeting as was agreed upon.
The Indian government also revealed that Pakistan allowed the local press to approach the family members and harass them which was against the agreement.
Kulbhushan Jadhav is in Pakistani custody and is a death-row prisoner under spying charges. Pakistan maintains that Jadhav is an Indian spy, a charge which has been denied by India. India has even approached International Court of Justice (ICJ) to secure his release.
India should take a strong stand against Pakistan. Pakistani troops also resorted to unprovoked firing along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, a day after a similar incident took the lives of four Army personnel in nearby Rajouri district.
The Pakistani troops started firing from heavy and light weapons from across the border, targeting forward posts and villages in Shahpur sector around 12.55 pm, a police official said.
Meanwhile, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj should stop providing medical visa to Pakistani citizens. Diplomacy is a two way bridge and India should stop playing the role of an elder brother if it can’t reap the benefits.
