Pak journalists heckle, harass Jadhav's mother and wife

New Delhi [India] Dec. 26 (ANI): Pakistani journalists on Monday heckled and harassed former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav's mother and wife in Islamabad.

Jadhav's mother Avanti and wife Chetankul were harassed after meeting him in heavily guarded foreign ministry office in Islamabad.

As they saw Chetankul, journalists shouted what would you say on your husband killing thousands of innocent Pakistanis? ('aapke patidev ne hazaron begunah Pakistaniyo ke khoon se Holi kheli ispar kya kahengi?)

They asked his mother what are your feeling after meeting your killer son? (aapke kya jazbaat hain apne kaatil bete se milne ke baad?).

India has already taken strong note of the meeting that came after two-year-long wait in which Jadhav was separated from his family by a glass screen. The communication for a little over 40 minutes between them was through an intercom device.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday said Pakistan had disregarded the cultural and religious sensibilities of Jadhav's family.

The wife and the mother of Jadhav were asked to remove mangal sutra, bangles and bindi, besides having been asked to change the attire, citing it as a security measure.

"Under the pretext of security precautions, the cultural and religious sensibilities of family members were disregarded. This included the removal of mangal sutra, bangles and bindi, as well as a change in attire that was not warranted by security," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

Kumar added the Pakistani press, despite prior agreement that the media would not be allowed close access, was allowed on multiple occasions to approach the family members closely, harass and hector them and hurl false and motivated accusations about Jadhav.

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

Raveesh Kumar concluded by saying that the manner in which the meeting was conducted and its aftermath seemed clearly to be an attempt to bolster a false and unsubstantiated narrative of Jadhav's alleged activities, adding the exercise lacked credibility.

The Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) clarified that the screen was placed due to security reasons and that Jadhav already knew this would be the setting. It substantiated his stance by adding that Islamabad considered Jadhav as "the face of Indian terrorism, especially in Pakistan."

In addition to this, the MoFA released another 'confessional' video of Jadhav's, in which the convicted alleged spy was seen confessing that he did cross from Iran to Pakistan two years back.

Jadhav, in the video that was apparently shot before he got to meet his kin, also said that he had requested to meet his family members and that he was grateful to the Pakistan Government for letting that happen.

Jadhav is facing charges of terrorism and spying for India's intelligence agency- Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

On April 10, 2017, Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Field General Court Martial (FGCM) in Pakistan.

On May 18, 2017, the International Court of Justice stayed the hanging, after India approached it against the death sentence. (ANI)