Pakistan on Thursday released an obviously “tutored” video of its Indian captive Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, in which he is heard thanking Pakistan for “treating him well” and denying he has been tortured by them. In the “absurd” video, Jadhav instead goes on to accuse the Indian Government of mistreating his mother Avantika and wife Chetana when they came to meet him.
India promptly rubbished the video, saying “the absurdity of a captive under duress certifying his own welfare while mouthing allegations of his captors clearly merits no comment” and slammed Pakistan for continuing with its practice of putting out coerced statements.
The video comes days after India criticised Islamabad for its abrasive behaviour with the wife and the mother of Jadhav, regulating their conversation, removing their mangalsutra, bindi, etc, and keeping the accompanying Indian diplomat JP Singh away from the conversation.
Within minutes of the release of the video, the MEA in a sharp reaction said the statement made by Jadhav under distress and coercion has no value. “This does not come as a surprise. Pakistan is simply continuing its practice of putting out coerced statements on video. It is time for them to realise that such propagandistic exercises simply carry no credibility. The absurdity of a captive under duress certifying his own welfare while mouthing allegations of his captors clearly merits no comment. Pakistan is best advised to fulfil its international obligations, whether it pertains to consular relations or UNSC resolutions 1,267 and 1,373 on terrorism and to desist from continuing violations of human rights of an Indian national,” MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.
The latest video, fourth in the series, was played out by Pakistan’s Foreign Office at a Press briefing on Wednesday. In the video, Jadhav, the retired Indian Navy official, purportedly said that he is still a serving officer of the Indian Navy and thanked Pakistani officials for arranging the meeting between him and his family on December 25. He added that he is being treated well in captivity by the Pakistani side. “Don’t worry mummy. They (Pakistan) are taking care of me, they have not touched me. She believed me once she saw me personally,” Jadhav said.
He went on to add that an Indian diplomat yelled at his mother.
“I saw fear in the eyes of my mother and wife. Why should there be fearIJ Whatever has happened has happened. They felt threatened. The Indian diplomat who had come along with my mother was shouting 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 said.
Interestingly, Jadhav ‘s mother and wife were kept in a soundproof glass cabin from where the two women spoke to Jadhav through intercom as Jadhav too was kept in a separate glass cell. The Pakistan foreign office itself conceded that it wanted to ensure that the accompanying diplomat JP Singh was kept out all along and he could only see but not hear the conversation. Under such circumstances, it was surprising that Jadhav could hear the diplomat yelling at his mother and wife when the cells were soundproof.
Sources in the Indian Government said the fresh video by Pakistan is a diversionary tactic to change the narrative of the entire episode in Islamabad. India had raised serious objections over misbehaviour with the wife and mother of Jadhav which included changing their clothes and removing ornaments. Moreover, Pakistan did not return the shoes of Chetana after the meeting.