Pakistan issues visas to Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife and mother

India had earlier refused to send wife of Kulbhushan Jadhav, alone to visit the Indian navy officer in Pakistan, requesting Islamabad to grant travel permit to his mother also.

The Pakistan High Commission on Wednesday issued visas to Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife and mother to visit Islamabad to meet him. Jadhav has been in the Pakistani jail since April over allegations of being an Indian spy.

India had earlier refused to send wife of Kulbhushan Jadhav, alone to visit the Indian navy officer in Pakistan, requesting Islamabad to grant travel permit to his mother also. Pakistan in November said it is "considering" India's request to let Kulbhushan Jadhav's mother meet him, apart from his wife who has already received permission to visit the Indian death row prisoner.

On December 17, Pakistan said the visa applications of Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife and mother had been received and were being "processed", days after it again rejected India's plea for consular access to the death row prisoner.

Jadhav, 47, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April, following which India moved the ICJ in May. The ICJ halted his execution on India's appeal pending the final verdict by it. Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav alias Hussein Mubarak Patel from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran. India, however, maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.

Earlier, Pakistan had agreed to facilitate a meeting of Jadhav with his mother and wife in Islamabad on December 25. It also agreed to India's demand that they be accompanied by an official of the Indian High Commission here.

On Thursday, Pakistan directed its High Commission in New Delhi to issue visas to Jadhav's wife and mother.

OneIndia News