ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Monday hosted a meeting of convicted Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav with his mother and wife on “humanitarian grounds” and urged New Delhi to show a similar spirit.

“One good deed should beget another. Such decisions should serve as templates for others to follow, including in Indian-occupied Jammu & Kashmir, where innocent blood continues to be spilled,” Foreign Office spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal told a media briefing held after Jadhav’s meeting with his family.

The spokesperson described Jadhav as the “face of Indian terrorism, especially in Pakistan” and said the meeting was allowed on humanitarian grounds on the occasion of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s birth anniversary.

In his confession, Jadhav had admitted to his involvement in espionage, terrorist and subversive activities in Pakistan. Last month, Islamabad offered a meeting between the spy and his wife, but New Delhi conditioned its acceptance of the offer on permission for both, Jadhav’s mother and an Indian diplomat who would accompany her, which was accepted.

The nearly 40-minute-long meeting was held amidst tight security in a specially-built container on the Foreign Office premises, where Jadhav met his family.

Clad in a blue jacket, the spy met his wife Chetankul Jadhav and mother Avantisudhir Jadhav from behind a thick glass partition that did not allow physical interaction, and spoke through an intercom.

FO says New Delhi declined to hold joint press talk; rejects impression that this was last meeting between Jadhav and his family

Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh, who accompanied the two ladies, observed the interaction through another glass partition where he could witness the exchange but not hear what was being said. However, the conversation was video-recorded and photographed, and a lady officer sat in the room alongside Jadhav’s family.

“They spoke openly during the meeting,” Dr Faisal said after the interaction.

The women arrived in Islamabad on a connecting Emirates flight from Dubai around 11:30pm and were received at the airport by the Indian deputy high commissioner.

Mediapersons camped outside the Rawal Lounge were not allowed to speak to the women and the area was cleared by security personnel as they exited the terminal.

The two ladies arrived at the Foreign Office around 1:15pm in an SUV bearing a green government licence plate and were dropped a short distance from the FO’s Agha Shahi Block. This meant they had to walk past the battery of journalists who had gathered to cover the meeting, and were then subjected to strict security protocols for nearly an hour, and were also made to change their clothes before the meeting.

A shawl they had brought along as a gift for Jadhav was retained for security clearance.

No joint presser

On their way out, as the two women were waiting for the vehicle that would take them back, they were bombarded with harsh questions from the overzealous press corps. The two women did not react, but the Indian diplomat was visibly perturbed and could be seen, even from a distance, protesting the way Jadhav’s family had been exposed to the media glare.

According to the FO spokesperson, a media interaction had been planned for Jadhav family after their meeting with the spy, but the Indian side refused.

“Pakistan wanted the wife and mother of Commander Jadhav to speak to the media, here in this hall, today… This was done in the spirit that Pakistan has nothing to hide and, like all of you, seeks answers to many questions that remain unanswered. However, the Indian side requested that they wanted to avoid a media interaction. Hence, I speak today without the presence of the mother and wife in due deference to the Indian request,” Dr Faisal said.

He also shared Jadhav’s latest medical reports, compiled by a doctor from the Saudi-German Hospital in Dubai. The reports, dated Dec 22, showed that the spy was “in excellent healthy condition”.

A video message, recorded by Jadhav before the meeting with his family, was also played for the media, where the spy said that he had been “treated with dignity and honour and in a very professional manner by Pakistani authorities” during his detention. He also said that he had personally asked for a meeting with his wife and was thankful to the government of Pakistan for arranging it.

The spokesperson also rejected the impression that this was the last meeting between Jhadav and his family.

“This meeting has nothing to do with the case pending before the International Court of Justice, or with politics,” Dr Faisal said, adding that before they left, both women thanked Pakistan, the Foreign Office and his team, indicating that they were satisfied with the arrangements.

Jadhav’s wife and mother were taken to the Indian High Commission after their meeting, and later boarded the 6:30pm Oman Air flight to New Delhi via Muscat, which was delayed by about an hour.

Iran distances itself

Meanwhile on Monday, the speaker of Iran’s parliament distanced his country from the Indian spy’s anti-Pakistan activities that were allegedly conducted from its soil.

“As per our information, Kulbhushan remained in Chabahar as a trader, we never knew about his involvement in spying,” Ali Larijani told a media briefing.

His media interaction was dominated by questions about the spy, detracting from the raison d’être of his visit — the recently concluded Speaker’s Conference.

Iran was first linked to the Jadhav issue when former army chief retired Gen Raheel Sharif, during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Islamabad in March last year, asked him to look into reports that the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) was working against Pakistan from Iran.

Gen Sharif made the demand in the context of Jadhav’s capture in Balochistan after he illegally crossed over from Iran. The arrest was announced just before Mr Rouhani’s first visit to Pakistan.

On Monday, Mr Larijani said the security agencies of both countries had already exchanged information about the spy.

“We never allowed anyone to use our soil against Pakistan and were taken aback by the manner in which we were associated with the issue,” he said, adding that this was a matter between India and Pakistan.

He said Iran’s relations with India would not come at the cost of its ties with Pakistan, adding that both relationships were independent of each other.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2017