Such Propaganda Has No Credibility: MEA Slams Pak on Jadhav Video

“The Indian diplomat who accompanied my mother was shouting at her,” Jadhav said in the new video.

Kulbhushan Jadhav, who Islamabad claimed is an Indian spy, met his family on 25 December 2017.

(Photo: The Quint)

A second video of alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav was released on Thursday, 4 January. In this video, Jadhav is speaking to the camera about his meeting with his family members.

He said his mother was ‘satisfied’ and ‘relaxed’ after seeing him, but went on to slam the “Indian public, the Indian crowd, the Indian government” for instilling fear in his mother and his wife.

Soon after the footage came to light, India's External Affairs Ministry (MEA) issued a statement hitting out at Pakistan by calling the video a “propagandistic exercise”.

The MEA further told Pakistan that it is best for the country “to fulfil its international obligations” and “to desist from continuing violations of human rights of an Indian national.”

Absurdity of a captive, under duress, certifying his own welfare while mouthing allegations of his captors clearly merits no comment.

MEA

Kulbhushan Jadhav had met his mother and wife on 25 December in Pakistan for the first time after being captured by Pakistani officials. After the meeting, a 'confessional' video of Jadhav was released by Pakistan where he was speaking about why he was captured and how Pakistan has been keeping him in a good state.

I saw the fear in the eyes of my mother and my wife. Why should they fear? Whatever has happened has happened. [...] The Indian diplomat who accompanied my mother was shouting at her the moment she stepped outside. Has she been brought under threat to meet me?

Kulbhushan Jadhav in the second video

The veracity of the video which was apparently released by the Pakistan Foreign Office could not be ascertained.

The video was released days after India hit out at Pakistan for violating terms of the Jadhav family meet, and raised questions about the 47-year-old Indian national's well-being.

India had also asserted that Jadhav appeared coerced and under considerable stress during the tightly-controlled interaction on 25 December in the Pakistan Foreign Office.

During the meeting, Jadhav was seen sitting behind a glass screen while his mother and wife sat on the other side, as per the pictures released by Pakistan. They spoke through intercom and the entire 40-minute proceedings appeared to have been recorded on video.

The Indian diplomat was shouting at my mother the moment she stepped out. I saw him shouting, yelling at her. This [meeting] was a positive gesture, so that she [my mother] could be happy and I could be happy.

Jadhav in second video

However, it was not clear how Jadhav saw the diplomat shouting at his mother once she stepped out. The diplomat accompanying Jadhav's family was India's Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also lashed out at Pakistan, calling the release of the second video "cruel, inhuman and very disappointing".

"A civilised state can never indulge in such behaviour," he said.

(WIth inputs from PTI and ANI)