Pakistan on Wednesday rejected the insinuations that the mother and wife of Kubhushan Jadhav would be having last meeting with him on Monday, saying the Indian prisoner is under no threat of immediate execution.
Foreign Office spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal said that Pakistan had decided to permit the meeting of the wife and mother of Jadhav with him purely on humanitarian grounds.
Let me assure you that the Commander (Jadhav) is under no threat of immediate execution and his mercy petitions are still pending
Dr Mohammad Faisal, Pak Foreign Office Spokesman
He was responding to a question on the possible immediate execution of the Indian prisoner on death row after his meeting with his family.
Faisal said the mother and wife of Jadhav were being provided with a meeting with him in the light of “Islamic traditions and based on purely humanitarian grounds.”
He said that the meeting between Jadhav and his family will take place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Pakistan has issued visas to both the ladies. The meeting will be held in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A diplomat from the Indian high commission in Islamabad would be allowed to accompany the visitors.
To a question Faisal said, "Pakistan is ready to permit media interaction with the wife and mother of Commander Jadhav. We await Indian decision in this regard."
The Pakistan High Commission on Wednesday issued visas to the mother and wife of Kulbhushan Jadhav to visit Islamabad to meet the death row prisoner.
"Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi issued the visas to the mother and wife of Commander Jadhav to visit Islamabad to meet him," Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said on 20 December.
On 17 December, Pakistan had said that the visa applications of Jadhav's wife and mother had been received and were being "processed".
Jadhav's mother and wife are expected to arrive in Pakistan on Saturday via the Wagah Border. Informed sources said that during a meeting on Monday, Pakistan's National Security Committee cleared the visas for Jadhav's mother, Avantika Jadhav, and his wife.
Earlier this month, Pakistan had agreed to grant these visas. Along with Jadhav’s family members, an official of the Indian high commission is also allowed to meet him, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had confirmed.
Pakistan assured their “safety, security and freedom of movement”, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj wrote on Twitter on 8 December, adding that she spoke to Jadhav’s mother to inform her about the news.
Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court in April on charges of espionage and terrorism. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in May halted his execution on India's appeal.
Pakistan has repeatedly denied India’s consular access to Jadhav on the ground that it was not applicable in cases related to spies.
Jadhav has filed an appeal with Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa to seek clemency, which is still pending.
Last month, the Pakistan Army had said it is close to a decision on the mercy petition of Jadhav.
Pakistan claims its security forces arrested him from restive Balochistan province on 3 March 2016, after he reportedly entered the country from Iran. However, India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran, where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.
Jadhav’s sentencing had evoked a sharp reaction in India. After India approached the ICJ, a 10-member bench on 18 May restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav till adjudication of the case.
The ICJ has asked Pakistan to submit its response or memorial by 13 December before the court could start further proceedings in the case.
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