The mother and wife of Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian spy sentenced to death for espionage in Pakistan, are expected to arrive in the country this Saturday.
At a meeting on Monday, Pakistan’s National Security Committee cleared visas for Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother Avantika Jadhav and his wife. High-ranking military and Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials met on Tuesday afternoon to decide details of the Jadhav family’s visit.
Last week, the foreign ministry offered a visa for Kulbhushan Jadhav’s wife on humanitarian grounds and at New Delhi’s request, extending this offer to cover Jadhav’s mother as well.
The Foreign Office (FO) confirmed that the visa applications of Jadhav’s family were being processed. “Visa applications of mother and wife of Commander Jadhav received for their visit on humanitarian grounds. Being processed,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal tweeted on Saturday.
Visa applications of mother and wife of Commander Jadhav received for their visit on humanitarian grounds. Being processed.
The Indian naval officer’s wife and mother are likely to be issued visas tomorrow (Wednesday). They would cross into Pakistan from the Wagah check post on Saturday and spend the day in Islamabad on Sunday, according to India’s NDTV.
The Pakistani government had earlier fixed 25 December for the meeting between Jadhav and his family. An Indian diplomat would also be present at this meeting.
The development comes weeks before the International Court of Justice is to hear India’s appeal against the death sentence on grounds that it was delivered “without giving the Indian national (Kulbushan Jadhav) an opportunity to defend himself”.
Kulbushan Jadhav was arrested from Balochistan province on March 3 last year in an intelligence-based operation by the security forces.
He is a Commander rank serving officer in Indian navy as per his own statement. An Indian passport bearing his assumed name Hussein Mubarak Patel – a fictitious activity to conceal his original identity, had been recovered from his possession.
In his confessional statements released to media, Jadhav disclosed his clandestine mission of espionage leading to sabotage activity in restive province of Balochistan, Karachi and elsewhere in Pakistan.
India, on the other hand, claimed that he was “a retired Naval officer, who had been kidnapped from Iran where he was in connection with his business”.
Jadhav had been tried by a Field General Court Martial, which handed down capital punishment to him. The Indian government hurriedly took the issue to International Court of Justice (ICJ). The latter, on May 18th 2017, passed order staying execution of Jadhav.
