Pakistan allows Kulbhushan Jadhav to meet mother, wife on Christmas

Islamabad : Pakistan on Friday allowed the mother and wife of alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, currently on death row, to meet him at a prison here on December 25.

A staff member from the Indian High Commission will be present at the meeting and "complete security will be provided to the visitors", Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal told the media.

Pakistan had on November 10 granted permission to Jadhav's wife to visit him "on humanitarian grounds". New Delhi urged Islamabad to also allow Jadhav's mother to accompany his wife along with an Indian diplomat. 

Faisal said India had been notified of Pakistan's decision to allow Jadhav's wife and mother to visit him.

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted that she had informed Avantika Jadhav, the mother, about Pakistan's decision to grant her and his wife visa.

Islamabad has said that Jadhav, allegedly an officer with the Indian Navy and attached to the intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), was arrested on March 3, 2016 from Balochistan after he entered Pakistan illegally from Iran.

It said Jadhav had "confessed" in a Pakistani court "that he was tasked by RAW to plan, coordinate and organise espionage, terrorist and sabotage activities aimed at destabilizing and waging war against Pakistan".

India denies he was a spy and alleged that Jadhav was abducted from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.

Jadhav was sentenced to death on April 10 by a Pakistani military court. On May 18, the International Court of Justice ordered Pakistan to halt the execution of Jadhav until a final decision was reached in the proceedings.

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