Secret NSA meet between India, Pakistan held a day after Kulbhushan Jadhav met family: Report

Kulbhushan Jadhav met his mother and wife in Pakistan on December 25, 2017.

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New Delhi: A day after the mother and wife of Kulbhushan Jadhav met him in Islamabad, the National Security Advisors (NSA) of India and Pakistan met for talks in Bangkok on December 26, 2017, as per a media report.

The Indian Express quoted sources as saying that the meeting between Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Lt General Nasir Khan Janjua (retired) took place in the Thai capital. The meeting was reportedly not linked to Pakistan’s handling of Jadhav’s wife and mother.

As per the report, the meeting between the two sides had been decided earlier in December 2017 with sources saying that it was a 'pre-scheduled meeting'.

However, there has been no official confirmation of the same.

In December 2015 too, Doval and Janjua had met in Thailand and had discussed peace and security along the LoC, among other things.

They had also agreed to take forward the 'constructive' engagement.

Meanwhile, India on December 28, 2017, had torn into Pakistan for presenting the wife and mother of Jadhav as 'widows' during their highly controlled meeting and had accused Islamabad of turning an emotional moment into 'an instrument to further its propaganda'.

In identical statements in both houses of Parliament, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said there was "serious and gross violation of human rights of the family members of Jadhav", who is on death row in Pakistan for alleged 'spying'.

She had pointed out that Jadhav's mother Avanti and wife Chetna were forced to remove their mangalsutra, bindi and bangles and footwear and even made to change their attire on the pretext of security.

Jadhav's mother and wife had met him on December 25, 2017, inside the Pakistan Foreign Office building in Islamabad under unusual circumstances - he was separated from the two women by a glass screen and they had conversed through an intercom.

Avanti was not allowed to speak in their native Marathi language, Chetna's footwear was confiscated and Jadhav's words had appeared tutored. After the meeting, Pakistani authorities did not return the shoes of Jadhav's wife despite repeated requests.

Following the statement, members cutting across all party lines in both Houses voiced full-throated support for the government.

Pakistan says Jadhav, an ex-Indian Navy officer, was arrested in Balochistan with a fake passport, a charge denied by India, which says he was kidnapped from Iran where he has a legitimate business.

The 47-year-old has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court but the execution has been stayed by the International Court of Justice following India's efforts.

(With PTI inputs)