'Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife, mother made to look like widows': Sushma Swaraj

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday came down heavily on Pakistan over the treatment meted out to Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife and mother when they visited Islamabad to meet him. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Swaraj said human rights of the family members of Kulbhushan Jadhav were violated again and again by Pakistan.

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

Narrating the horror faced by both the women in Pakistan, Swaraj said they were forced to change attire and made to look like widows.

"Jadhav Ji's mother who only wears a saree was forced to wear salwar-kurta. Bindi, bangles and mangalsutras of both mother and wife were removed. Both the married women were made to like widows," the External Affairs Minister added.

On the issues of Pakistan not returning the shoes of Jadhav's wife, Swaraj said: "nothing can be more absurd."

"Even after her repeated attempts, the shoes of Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife were not returned. Pakistan says there was a camera or a recorder in the shoes, nothing can be more absurd than this as she traveled in 2 flights with those shoes on. It is an absurdity beyond measure," she said.

The minister told the House that Kulbhushan Jadhav's mother was not allowed to speak in Marathi, their mother tongue and that Pakistani officials switched-off the intercom when she spoke in Marathi.

"Not just his wife but bindi and mangalsutra of his mother were also removed, I spoke to her she told me that as soon as she reached Kulbhushan asked her 'Baba kaise hain?' because he thought a mishap has taken place when he wasn't around," she said.

Kulbhushan Jadhav has been in the Pakistani jail since April 2016 over allegations of being an Indian spy. On what Pakistan claimed was a humanitarian gesture, Jadhav's mother and wife were issued visas and allowed to meet him on Monday. The meeting did not turn out to be the way Jadhav's family may have expected. There was a glass partition between Jadhav and his family, and his wife and the mother were asked to remove mangalsutra, bangles and bindi, besides been asked to change the attire, citing it as a security measure.

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