Hope that Pakistan would free Kulbhushan Jadhav soon, say relatives

Mumbai: After former navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav met his mother and wife in Islamabad, his relatives are hoping that Pakistan would release him soon. “We are just extremely happy that the family reunited after 21 long months in Islamabad. Once they come back, we will ask what happened there and will worry about the rest later,” said an elated Subhash Jadhav, the brother of navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav (47). The latter is in Pakistan’s custody and got to meet his mother and wife for a few minutes in Islamabad on Monday. Kulbhushan has been awarded a death sentence by a Pakistani military court for his alleged acts of sabotage and terror.

Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother and wife.

Pakistan allowed Kulbhushan’s meeting with his wife and mother as part of a ‘humanitarian gesture’ on a day that is observed as the birthday of Pakistan’s founder, ‘Quaid-e-Azam’ Muhammad Ali Jinnah, according to its foreign ministry spokesperson. Another relative, who spoke to The Asian Age, said he hoped Pakistan would free Kulbhushan. Vijay Konjiya, a close friend of the Jadhavs said in excitement, “This is a very happy news for all of us who know the Jadhavs because we know how much the family wanted to meet Kulbhushan. Right now, the fact that the family is reunited is much more important than the amount of time they spend together.”

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a relative told this paper, “Kulbhushan’s mother and wife must be exhilarated after looking at him. I cannot even imagine the look on their faces. We are just waiting to see them, so that we will feel the same joy that they felt while meeting him.”

Jadhav met his mother and wife for only forty minutes on Monday at the Foreign Affairs Ministry building located in Islamabad.

The meeting was separated by a glass screen, and hence nobody touched each other. It was the first time that Jadhav was meeting his family since his arrest in March 2016, and Pakistan portrayed it as a humanitarian gesture to mark the birthday of the country's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah.