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Kulbhushan Jadav, an Indian Navy commander, who was caught for sabotage and espionage activities in Pakistan, is a death row prisoner. Pakistan’s Foreign Office showed leniency on humanitarian grounds, when it allowed the Indian spy’s wife and mother to meet him in Islamabad.
However, as always, India is not happy about the meeting. Even though Pakistan proved that it still had humanitarian beliefs, India has created a new spat out of the meeting, stating that Pakistan violated the rules that were set for the meeting.
An Indian Ministry of External Affairs statement claimed that Pakistan made 4 violations on the agreed rules of the meeting. 1) Stopping Jadav’s family in conversing in their native Marathi language. 2) Making Jadav’s mother and wife change their clothes and remove religious ornaments. 3) Barring the Indian Deputy High Commissioner from observing the meeting. 4) Allowing Pakistani media to harass Jadav’s wife and mother.
Even though these claims are far-fetched, as Jadav is not an Indian celebrity on a tour in Pakistan, but a spy who was caught spreading terrorism in the country. It was Pakistan’s extreme leniency and belief in humanity that the meeting was allowed in the first place.
India needs to realize that Kulbhushan is a death-row prisoner and anything given to him as favor is more than what he and his country deserve. Pakistan’s Foreign Officer rejected the allegations stating:
“We do not wish to indulge in a meaningless battle of words. Our openness and transparency belies these allegations. If Indian concerns were serious, the guests or the Indian [diplomat] should have raised them during the visit with the media, which was readily available, but at a safe distance, as requested by India,” the statement said.
“There was something in the shoe. It is being investigated. We gave her a pair of replacement shoes. All her jewelry etc were returned after the meeting,” FO spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal told media.
It is not up to India to make whatever they deem fit out of the meeting, but the world acknowledges that Pakistan showed great humanitarian potential but allowing the meeting to take place. If it was up to Pakistan, the could have denied the meeting altogether.
