Absurdity beyond measure: Sushma Swaraj tears into Pakistan for humiliating Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother, wife

New Delhi: Reacting sharply to the humiliating treatment of Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother and wife – Avanti and Chetankul – when they visited him in Islamabad, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday told the Parliament that Pakistan was guilty of violating basic human rights and their conduct was ‘absurdity beyond measure.’

Jadhav, an Indian prisoner sentenced to death by Pakistani military court on false charges of spying, met Avanti and Chetankul from behind a glass barrier on Monday. While Pakistan called it a humanitarian gesture, the two women were subject to a number of humiliations including verbal assault from Pakistani journalists and being asked to take off their shoes, bangles, mangal sutra and bindi. 

Swaraj unequivocally slammed Pakistan and said a number of pre-agreed conditions were deliberately violated. “A mother met her son, wife met her husband after 22 months but it was used as a propaganda weapon by Pakistan,” she said. “We had asked that Pakistani media not be allowed near the family but they were permitted to come in close proximity from where they humiliated them, accused them.”

An emotional Swaraj also said she spoke to Jadhav’s mother who confirmed a number of shocking incidents – including that she was forced to wear salwar kameez. “She (Avanti) told me that she was not allowed to speak in Marathi. Two Pakistani officials kept stopping them from speaking in their language and intercoms were also turned off when Marathi was spoken. That is not all. Both the mother and the wife were made to remove their mangal sutra and sindoor before meeting Jadhav. His mother told me when Jadhav saw her, his first question was if his father was alright,” said Swaraj, hitting out at Pakistan’s basic sense of respecting symbols of a married Hindu woman.

Swaraj then went on to counter Pakistan’s charge that Chetankul wore shoes with a metallic object. “Jadhav’s wife was forced to take off her shoes, they said it had a camera. Then they said it had a recorder. What I want to know is that she took two flights – one Air India and then Emirates – and even if we assume that Air India allowed her safe passage, was recorder, chip not noticed during checking at Dubai Airport?”

A day earlier, on Wednesday, politicians cutting across party lines condemned authorities in Islamabad and demanded that the government leaves no stone unturned to bring back the retired Indian Navy officer.