The government on Thursday slammed Pakistan for the “discourteous” behaviour meted out to the mother and wife of Kulbhushan Jadhav in Islamabad where they had gone to meet the Indian national who is in custody there. Making a statement in the Rajya Sabha, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in the name of security, Pakistani authorities forced his mother and wife to change clothes and take off their jewellery, including the ‘mangalsutra’, and bindi.
Swaraj said the Pakistani claim that there was a device in the shoes of Jadhav’s wife is “absurdity beyond measure” as she travelled through Dubai airport security and their own security to reach Islamabad. The government, she said, had earlier successfully stalled Jadhav’s death sentence through a “farcical trial”. She also expressed lament that authorities there allowed media to come close to Jadhav’s family members despite agreement that they would not do so. In response, leaders of all political parties in the House condemned the Pakistani attitude. Later, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said the entire House calls upon the government to take steps for the safe, secure release of Jadhav. He said the House also urges the international community to condemn Pakistan’s attitude.
