Kulbhushan Jadhav case: Pakistan seeks access to 13 Indian officials

Kulbhushan Jadhav, the former Indian Navy officer who is on death row in Pakistan and is now undergoing trials for terrorism and sabotage in Pakistan, an unidentified official told Dawn.

The Pakistani government has reportedly sought access to 13 Indian officials with regard to Jadhav’s case, but New Delhi has so far been uncooperative, reported Dawn. The names of the 13 individuals have not been revealed, but it includes bankers, passport officials, and a former Research and Analysis Wing chief.

Pakistan has levied a number of charges against Jadhav who they believe was a spy working for India.

Pakistan says Jadhav was arrested from Balochistan in 2016, but Baloch leader Hyrbyair Marri told ANI that Jadhav was "never arrested from Balochistan", in fact he was, "abducted from Iran by Pakistani state-sponsored religious proxies and handed over to Pakistani forces." India, too, believes that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had gone for work.

Pakistan is yet to grant consular access to Jadhav, but in December 2017, his wife and mother were allowed to meet him in what Pakistan described as humanitarian gesture.

Tweeting a picture of Jadhav's wife and mother meeting him, Pakistan Foreign Office wrote: "The mother and wife of Commander Jadhav sitting comfortably in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pakistan. We honour our commitments."

However, Pakistan was criticized for the treatment meted out to Jadhav's relatives. Pakistani officials had removed mangalsutra and bangles of Jadhav's kin before they were allowed to meet him, and they were not allowed to speak in their mother tongue, Marathi.

Blasting Pakistan for ignoring cultural sensitivities, India's foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said there couldn't have been a bigger shame than asking the women to remove their mangalsutras. "Both married women were presented as widows in front of a son and husband. There can be no greater insult than this," Swaraj said.