External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today hit out at Pakistan for, what she called, its obnoxious behaviour during the meeting between Kulbhushan Jadhav and his mother and wife in Islamabad.
Making similar statements in both the Houses of Parliament on the meeting between Mr Jadhav and his family which took place on Monday, Mrs Swaraj said, despite the clear understanding between the two countries, Pakistan allowed its media to throw questions on the family members of Mr Jadhav.
Mrs Swaraj said, the family members were also harassed through use of offensive language by the Pakistani media. She said, the Pakistani media hurled false and motivated accusations about Mr Jadhav.
The Minister said, the car for the family of Mr Jadhav and accompanying Indian diplomat was delayed after the meeting so as to give another opportunity to the media to harass them.
External Affairs Minister said the meeting could have been a step forward. But it is a matter of great concern that there was departure from the agreed understandings between the two countries in the conduct of the meeting.
The Minister criticized the neighbouring country for not allowing the family members to speak in their mother tongue. Mrs Swaraj said, she was informed that wife of Mr Jadhav was forced to remove her bindi and mangal sutra before the meeting.
Also, the family members were forced to change their clothes on the pretext of security by Pakistan. The Minister came down heavily on Pakistan on not returning the shoes of wife of Mr Jadhav and said now Islamabad is levelling baseless allegations that there was something in her shoes. She said the family members told her that Mr Jadhav was under tension.
Mrs Swaraj said, the Pakistani authorities have been cautioned against any mischievous intent in this regard through a note verbale yesterday.
Following Mrs. Swaraj’s statement, members cutting across all party lines in both Houses voiced full-throated support for the government.
The leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress said the misbehaviour with Jadhav’s wife and mother was “misbehaviour with wives and mothers of 130 crore Indians.”
Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said the government should convey to the international community that Pakistan behaved in an inhuman manner.
Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian national, is in custody of Pakistan over alleged espionage charges for the last 22 months.
