Hidden chip, camera in shoes!

The government will make a statement in Parliament on Thursday on the treatment meted out to Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife and mother in Pakistan, said Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, amid outrage and condemnation in both houses.

Pakistani authorities, meanwhile, claim to have detected a "metallic substance" in the shoes worn by the wife of Kulbhushan Jadhav during their December 25 meeting and sent the footwear for forensic examination, Pakistani media reported on Wednesday.

The authorities were ascertaining whether the "metallic object" in the shoes was a camera or a recording chip, Pakistan Today quoted Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal as saying.

A separate report in Dawn said the FO had confirmed that a "metallic substance" had been detected in the wife's shoes, which were confiscated by security officials prior to the meeting.

All other belongings, including jewellery, were returned after the meeting, Faisal said, adding that she was given an alternative pair of shoes to wear.

But in a statement issued on Tuesday night, the FO had made no mention of the "metallic substance;" it had then merely said that there was "something" in the shoes.

In the statement, Pakistan has rejected as "baseless" India's charge that the wife and mother were harassed. The FO said that Pakistan does not wish to indulge in a "meaningless battle of words" and categorically rejects India's baseless "allegations and twists" about attitude of authorities during Jadhav's meeting with his wife and mother.

‘‘If Indian concerns were serious, the guests or the Indian DHC (Deputy High Commissioner) should have raised them during the visit with the media which on the stand by, but at a safe distance, as requested by India,’’ it said.