Pakistan presented Kulbhushan Jadhav’s wife and mother as widows ,says Sushma Swaraj

Pakistan presented Kulbhushan Jadhav’s wife and mother as widows ,says Sushma Swaraj

Pakistan presented Kulbhushan Jadhav’s wife Chetna and mother Avanti as “widows” in front of him, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday said when Jadhav saw his mother without a mangalsutra, bindi and bangles, he wondered if something

“unfortunate” had happened and asked about the well-being of his father.
The two women had to remove their mangalsutra, bindi, bangles, hair-clips and footwear, and also change their clothes, before meeting Jadhav, the former Indian Navy officer on Death Row in Pakistan, on Monday. Saying that this was a “serious and gross violation” of their human rights, Swaraj, in similar statements in both Houses of Parliament, asked MPs to “strongly condemn, in one voice” the “obnoxious” behaviour of Pakistan, and “affirm their solidarity with the Jadhav family”.

“Under the pretext of security precautions, even the attire of the family members was changed. Jadhav’s mother, who only wears saris, was given salwar-kurta to wear,” said Swaraj. She said Jadhav’s mother had told the Pakistani officials that the mangalsutra is a symbol of her marriage (suhag) and she never removes it, but they turned down her plea and said they were only following orders.

“Both married women were presented as widows in front of a son and husband. There can be no greater insult than this,” said Swaraj, amid chants of “shame, shame” from fellow parliamentarians. Swaraj said that while Pakistan had portrayed the meeting as a humanitarian gesture, “the truth is that both humanity and compassion were missing during the meeting that was arranged on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.” Saying that Pakistan had “misused” the “emotional moment” as “an instrument to further its propaganda”, Swaraj added that “there are not enough words to condemn the same.”

Sushama said Pakistan’s authorities were now talking of a chip, camera or recorder being installed in Chetna’s shoes. This is “absurdity beyond measure,” she said, pointing out that the two women had cleared security at airports in India, Dubai and Pakistan, where nothing suspicious was detected.

“At times they say there was a recorder on it (shoe), at times they say there was a camera, there was a chip… Thank God they did not say there was a bomb inside it,” she said. “The Pakistani authorities have been cautioned against any mischievous intent in this regard through a Note Verbale yesterday,” she added.