Pakistan’s misbehaviour with the wife and mother of Kulbhushan Jadhav was misbehaviour with all Indians, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Thursday as he joined External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in slamming Islamabad.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha after Swaraj’s address, Azad said: “Misbehaviour of Pakistan with wife and mother of Kulbhushan Jadhav was misbehaviour with all Indians.”

Advertisement

“Regardless of political differences, when it comes to nation’s dignity and another country misbehaves with our mothers and sisters, it will not be tolerated,” he added.

Tearing into Pakistan for insulting the wife and mother of Kulbhushan Jadhav, Sushma Swaraj said the neighbouring country missed a golden opportunity to strengthen bilateral ties and used the meeting to “further its propaganda.”

The minister went on slam Pakistan for describing the meeting as a “humanitarian gesture” on the birth anniversary of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and said that the human rights of Jadhav’s mother Avanti and wife Chetankul were violated again and again.

“It was nothing like a humanitarian gesture. Human rights of the family members were violated again and again and an environment of fear was created for them,” she said.

The minister further said that Jadhav’s mother who only wears a saree was forced to wear salwar-kurta while bindi, bangles and mangalsutras of both the women were removed and were made to like widows.

Dismissing Pakistan’s allegation against Jadhav’s wife that she had something suspicious in her shoes and that’s why the footwear were confiscated, the minister termed the accusation as “absurdity beyond measure”.

Jadhav, the Indian national on death row in Pakistan came face to face with his mother and wife after a gap of 22 months at the Pakistan Foreign Office in Islamabad on Monday.

Separated by a glass partition in the heavily-guarded building, they spoke through an intercom watched by the Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh who escorted them to the meeting.

On May 18, 2017, the International Court of Justice stayed the hanging, after India approached it against the death sentence.