Pak releases another 'confessional' video of Jadhav

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Press Trust of India Islamabad
Last Updated : Jan 04 2018 | 4:05 PM IST
Pakistan today released another video of Indian death row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav in which he purportedly says the Indian diplomat who accompanied his family for the meeting yelled at his mother.
In the video, Jadhav says he is a commissioned officer of the Indian Navy and that his commission has not gone. He also asked India why it was "lying" that he was not working for an intelligence agency.
However, the veracity of the video which was released by the Pakistan Foreign Office could not be ascertained.
The video was released days after India had hit out at Pakistan for violating understandings for the Jadhav-family meet and raised questions about the 47-year-old Indian national's well being.
India had also asserted that Jadhav appeared coerced and under considerable stress during the tightly-controlled interaction on December 25 in the Pakistan Foreign Office.
During the meeting, whose pictures were released by Pakistan, Jadhav was seen sitting behind a glass screen while his mother and wife sat on the other side. They spoke through intercom and the entire 40-minute proceedings appeared to have been recorded on video.
"I have to say one thing very important here, for the Indian public, Indian government and the Indian navy, that my commission is not gone. I am a commissioned officer in the Indian navy. Why are you lying about my working for an intelligence agency?" he said.
In the purported video, Jadhav said, "I saw fear in her (mother's) eyes, the Indian diplomat was shouting at my mother 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."
However, it was not clear how Jadhav saw the diplomat shouting at his mother once she stepped out. The diplomat accompanying Jadhav's family was India's Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad.
Pakistan on December 25 had also issued a video of Jadhav in which he was purportedly seen thanking the Pakistan government for arranging a meeting with his wife and mother.
Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April, following which India moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in May.
Pakistan says he was a commander rank officer in the Indian Navy. But India says Jadhav was a former naval officer.
New Delhi also says Jadhav was kidnapped in Iran where he had legitimate business interests, and brought to Pakistan.
A 10-member bench of the ICJ on May 18 restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav till adjudication of the case. It is expected to hold another hearing in March or April.

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First Published: Jan 04 2018 | 4:05 PM IST

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