Pakistan's intentions about death row convict Kulbhushan Jadhav have been suspect from day one. He was not tried in a law court. He was not allowed consular access, nor was he allowed to hire a lawyer to defend him. He was hurriedly given death sentence by a military court.
When India approached the International Court of Justice and got his death sentence stayed, the Pakistan army, under international pressure, allowed him to meet his mother and wife.
On Monday, the world was witness to a sorry spectacle of a death row convict facing his mother and wife behind a glass partition, with cameras keeping a close watch on what was being done or spoken on both sides. Even the clothes worn by his mother and wife were changed before the meeting.
There was an intercom on which Jadhav spoke to his wife and mother. Closeup video of Jadhav clearly shows he was tortured and there were injury marks on his head, neck and ear. The medical report of a German doctor based in Dubai that was flourished clearly showed that it was manipulated, with a date written by hand on the printed report.
This goes against all canons of natural justice. Not only that, it is outrightly inhuman. Imagine, a mother going to meet her son, and a wife going to meet her husband, after a wait of 21 months, and yet they are unable to even touch him, or ask him in private whether he was alright?
The most outrageous aspect of this meeting was that the Pakistan government orchestrated it as a big PR stunt. If Kulbhushan Jadhav is alright, he has not been tortured, then what is the problem in providing him consular access? This is a norm that is prevalent worldwide, and India has sent requests for consular access at least 20 times.
Pakistan government should realise that the entire world is closely watching the outcome of this case.
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