New Delhi: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday described Pakistan’s handling of Kulbhushan Jadhav’s meeting with his family members as inhuman.
He also said, while interacting with 17 member faculty and students from Harvard, Stanford and MIT of the USA, that the incident has hurt the sentiments of Indians.
Referring to the restrictions, Naidu said the move to ask Jadhav's wife take off her 'mangal sutra' has not got down well with the people of India.
He was of the view that Pakistan "did not do any good for itself" by its handling of the meeting while showcasing to the world its gesture, a statement issued by the Vice President's secretariat said.
India seeks peace in the region for the benefit of all the countries but some are adopting a different approach, Naidu said.
Press Release: Pakistan’s handling of Sh. Kulbhushan Jadhav’s family union inhuman, says Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu https://t.co/kn07Vzo9QY
— VicePresidentOfIndia (@VPSecretariat) December 27, 2017
Interacting with a delegation of Students and Professors from Harvard, Stanford Universities and MIT of USA, in New Delhi today. @choksinamit pic.twitter.com/AOadunsfXY
— VicePresidentOfIndia (@VPSecretariat) December 27, 2017
The meeting between Jadhav and his mother and wife took place on December 25, 2017, at the Pakistani foreign affairs ministry in Islamabad after repeated requests by India for family access.
On Tuesday, India said that Pakistan had violated mutual understanding on Jadhav's meeting with his family and had added that the Indian national appeared coerced under considerable stress during the tightly-controlled interaction.
Statement on Shri Kulbhushan Jadhav’s meeting with his family. https://t.co/rAVB5t6klQ
— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) December 26, 2017
"From the feedback we have received of the meeting, it appears that Jadhav was under considerable stress and speaking in an atmosphere of coercion," the External Affairs Ministry statement had said.
"We also regret that contrary to assurances, the overall atmosphere of the meeting was intimidating insofar as family members were concerned," it added.
Family members, however, handled the situation with "great courage and fortitude," the ministry said. The 47- year-old Jadhav's "appearance also raises questions about his health and well being."
During the meeting, whose pictures were released by Pakistan, the former Indian Navy official was seen sitting behind a glass screen while his mother and wife sat on the other side.
They spoke through an intercom and the entire 40-minute proceedings appeared to have been recorded on video.
Jadhav, who was arrested in March 2016, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for alleged 'spying', an accusation that India has dismissed as concocted.
(With PTI inputs)
