Jadhav-family meet: Pak restrictions 'inhuman', says VP Naidu

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday termed as “inhuman” the restrictions imposed by Pakistan during Kulbhushan Jadhav’s meeting with his wife and mother in Islamabad, saying it 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.

The meeting between Jadhav and his mother and wife took place on December 25 at the Pakistani foreign affairs ministry in Islamabad after repeated requests by India for family access.

Jadhav, who was arrested in March last year, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for alleged spying, an accusation that India has dismissed as concocted.

Yesterday, India accused Pakistan of violating mutual understanding on Jadhav’s meeting with his family, and said the Indian national appeared coerced under considerable stress during the tightly-controlled interaction.

Also Read | Pakistan sends shoes of Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife for forensic testing

Naidu made these remarks while interacting with faculty members and students from the universities of Harvard, Stanford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Vice President said that while India seeks peace in the region for the benefit of all, some nations were “adopting a different approach”.

He said during the interaction that the Indian voter has shown great maturity from time to time while casting ballot “as was evident in their fierce defence of personal freedoms by voting against the Emergency in 1977”.

“India faces the challenges of inequality, rural-urban divide, unemployment, border issues, poverty and illiteracy.  The ruling and opposition parties need to work together with shared perspectives for further strengthening parliamentary democracy,” Naidu said.

He said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Demonetisation were development-oriented reforms undertaken by the government.