Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, in a video released by the Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday, said he "saw fear" in the eyes of his mother and wife when he met them in Islamabad on December 25, 2017, adding that an Indian diplomat accompanying them was "yelling at them".
"The Indian person or diplomat accompanying my mother and wife started yelling at them as soon as they stepped out of the meeting," said Jadhav in the video, which was played during a weekly press briefing at the FO.
Jadhav's Christmas meeting with his family in Islamabad was widely criticised in the Indian media. Indian officials had claimed that the spy's mother and wife were humiliated by Pakistani authorities before and after their meeting with him.
Explore: ‘Restrictions’ on Jadhav’s family trigger new spat
"I have something very important to say here to the Indian people, the government and the Indian navy: I am a commissioned officer in the Indian Navy — my commission is not over," said Jadhav in the video, adding that his family "was threatened". "I saw fear in the eyes of my mother and wife — why should there be fear? What all has happened has happened."
"This gesture was a positive one so that she feels happy, I feel happy — and then there's this person standing outside and yelling at her?"
He assured viewers that he had "not been subjected to any sort of torture in Pakistan".
In the video, Jadhav said that his mother was "very happy" to see him "in a good state".
"She said, 'I'm feeling very relaxed after seeing you'."
"We, India and Pakistan, are supposed to end our enmity and subsequently, further our relationship."
FO Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal during the briefing said it was "sad" that Pakistanis were kept from visiting India for the urs of Khawaja Nizamuddin Aulia after New Delhi postponed the issuance of visas to 192 Pakistani pilgrims who wished to attend the urs from Jan 1-8.
Dr Faisal also claimed that the Indian blind cricket team was not given clearance to travel to Pakistan by Delhi.
'Absurdity of statement merits no comment,' says India
Indian Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, in a statement issued after the release of Jadhav's latest video, said the spy's comments "do not come as a surprise", according to Asia News International.
"The absurdity of a captive under duress certifying his own welfare while mouthing allegations of his captors clearly merits no comment," Kumar said.
"Pakistan is simply continuing its practice of putting out coerced statements on video," he claimed, describing the video as a "propagandistic exercise" that carries "no credibility".
"Pakistan is best advised to fulfil its international obligations, whether it pertains to consular relations or UNSC resolutions 1267 and 1373 on terrorism and to desist from continuing violations of human rights of an Indian national," the MEA spokesperson added.
Jadhav family meeting
The meeting between Jadhav, and his wife and mother took place at the Foreign Office in Islamabad on Dec 25, with the family members communicating with each other via an intercom and across a glass screen, while FO officials and Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh monitored the encounter through another glass screen looking into the room.
Jadhav's wife's shoes were confiscated before the meeting on security grounds as they contained 'something metallic'.
The women had made a stop at the Indian High Commission upon their arrival in Islamabad prior to the meeting with Jadhav. India complained that its envoy "was initially separated from family members who were taken to the meeting without informing him."
"The meeting was started without his [Singh's] presence and he could join only after pressing the matter with concerned officials. Even then, he was kept behind an additional partition that did not allow him access to the meeting as agreed," the Indian statement said.
Pakistan described the meeting as a goodwill gesture on "humanitarian grounds", but India slammed the meeting as an "exercise that lacked any credibility".
The Indian government claimed that Islamabad had committed four violations of the agreed-upon rules by prohibiting the family from conversing in their native Marathi tongue; making the two women change their attire and remove religious symbols; preventing the Indian deputy high commissioner from observing the meeting; and, permitting media to “harass and hector” the two women.
Additionally, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs claimed that the meeting was held in an “intimidating” atmosphere.
Pakistan has denied the allegations.
