Pak: Metal chip found in shoe being analysed

Pakistan foreign minister Khawaja Mohammed Asif on Thursday rejected India’s allegation of harassing the wife and mother of Kulbhushan Jadhav and said that investigators had found a “metal chip” in the shoes worn by Chetankul Yadav and were analysing it.

“A metal chip has been found in one of the shoes, which is being analysed,” Mr Asif said.

Chetankul, Mr Jadhav’s wife, and Avanti, his mother, met him in the foreign office in Islamabad on December 25. Chetankul was asked

to remove her shoes and use another pair for the meeting after a “metal object” was found in it. Officials suspected that it could be a recording device. Mr Jadhav, who has been convicted of terrorism and espionage by a Pakistani Army court, faces the death sentence. Referring to the “intense hue and cry in India” about the change of clothes of the visitors, the retention of the shoe of the wife and the language in which the meeting was conducted,” the foreign minister underscored that Pakistan’s humanitarian gesture did not negate the fact that this was “not an ordinary meeting between a mother and wife with their son and husband.”

The reality, he said, remains that “Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav is a serving Indian Naval Officer and a convicted Indian terrorist and spy responsible for multiple deaths and destruction in Pakistan.”

Categorically rejecting India’s allegations, Mr Asif said the meeting was permitted on humanitarian grounds, in line with Islamic teachings and traditions of compassion and grace. “Trying to distort an agreed security check and attempting to portray it as a deliberate religious/ cultural disrespect denotes bad faith and is regrettable. It is unfortunate that the frenzied Indian media is driving Indian politics,” Mr Asif said, and added that routine airport security checks often entail removal of Christian crosses and Muslim veils. Stressing that Pakistan had been open and transparent throughout the meeting, offered in good faith, he said, “We do not wish to indulge in fallacious accusations and blame game and should focus on the bigger positive outcome that the meeting happened, despite immense challenges and impediments, instead of distortion of facts and baseless propaganda, which vitiates the atmosphere and is counterproductive”.

Mr Asif said a comprehensive security check was essential before Jadhav’s meeting with his wife and mother. “This was agreed between both countries, in advance, through diplomatic channels. The visitors were treated with respect and dignity. The change of clothes and removal of jewelry or ornaments etc. was purely for security reasons. The visitors changed into their own clothes after the meeting… The wife’s shoes were retained as they did not clear the security check,” the foreign minister said in his statement. The minister said the meeting — initially scheduled for 30 minutes — was extended to 40 minutes on their request. “The success of the meeting was evident by the fact that the mother thanked Pakistan after the visit,” he remarked.