Pak's blatant disregard for culture: 'Jadhav's wife had to remove mangalsutra before meeting'

A day after meeting Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is on a death row in Pakistan, his mother and wife met with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today.

Pakistan government authorities under the pretext of security measures made Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife to remove mangal sutra, bangles and bindi before she met him at the foreign ministry building in Islamabad, MEA Spokesperson told media persons.

In the first media briefing after Jadhav's wife and mother's visit to Pakistan, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, said, "The manner in which the meeting was conducted and its aftermath was clearly an attempt to bolster a false and unsubstantiated narrative of Jadhav's alleged activities. You would all agree that this exercise lacked any credibility."

Raveesh Kumar said, "For some inexplicable reason, despite her repeated requests, the shoes of the wife of Shri Jadhav were not returned to her after the meeting. We would caution against any mischievous intent in this regard."

Under pretext of security precautions, cultural and religious sensibilities of family members were disregarded. This included removal of mangal sutra, bangles and bindi, as well as a change in attire that was not warranted by security: Raveesh Kumar, MEA on #KulbhushanJadhav pic.twitter.com/K0v4Rh0EnG

— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2017

According to MEA, Kulbhushan Jadhav was under considerable stress and speaking in an atmosphere of coercion.

"Most of his remarks were clearly tutored and designed to perpetuate a false narrative of his alleged activities in Pakistan.His appearance also raises questions about his health," said Raveesh Kumar.

"The MEA alleged that under the pretext of security precautions, cultural and religious sensibilities of family members were disregarded," he added.

A day after meeting Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is on a death row in Pakistan, his mother and wife met with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar were present at the residence of External Affairs Minister. Jadhav's family returned to India on Tuesday morning.

Jadhav has been in the Pakistani jail since April 2016 over allegations of being an Indian spy.

Click here: Statement by MEA official

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