Jadhav family reunion: Pakistan disguises propaganda as 'humanitarian gesture'

After spending nearly 22 months in Pakistan's captivity, Kulbhushan Jadhav was finally allowed to 'meet' his wife and mother in Islamabad today. The meeting, Pakistan said, was a "humanitarian gesture" to mark the birth anniversary of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Father of the Islamic nation. 

When the day's affair ended following a press briefing of Foreign Affairs Ministry, it seemed like Pakistan had just played a propaganda film lasting a couple of hours.

Everything, from the arrival of Jadhav's wife Chetankul and mother Avanti to the so-called 'confessional' video of former India Navy officer, seemed meticulously planned. 

Sample this - After a 40 minutes meeting, Jadhav's wife and mother, accompanied by India Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh, came out from the front door. The car, provided by the Pakistani authorities, did not come around and they were made to wait for several minutes out in the open. Singh was seen lifting his hands, walking around, a gesture seen as frustration. 

Meanwhile, some of the Pakistani journalists, raised questions to Avanti Jadhav, the alleged Indian spy's mother which were more like accusations. "Mrs. Jadhav, how does it feel to be the mother of a terrorist?" was one of the questions thrown at the lady who had just met her son from across a glass wall. 

This was a typical Pakistani script. To try to launch an attack with the help of non-state actors so they they have their deniability. Except this time, the attack was not intended to harm anyone physically but to humiliate an Indian citizen in full public view. But this was low, even from a Pakistani standard, to subject a mother to such questioning from hecklers masquerading as journalists. 

Later, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a "confessional" video of Jadhav before its spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal read out a statement which was nothing but repetition of its charges against the alleged Indian spy.  This video was played in a loop while journalists waited for the press conference to begin.  In the "confession" video, Jadhav admitted that he crossed into Pakistan from Iran. He sought "pardon of the acts and sins and crimes committed here against the Nation and the people of Pakistan."

This was not the first time that Pakistan released a confession video of Jadhav, but questions arise on why they needed to release the video while his mother was literally a few kilometres away. During the press conference, Dr Faisal did not forget to throw in the figure that 500 medical visas were issued to Pakistanis by India before Jadhav row and now External Affairs Minister  Sushma Swaraj "picks and chooses." Faisal also did not forget to tell journalists that the scheduled 30-minute meeting was extended to 40 minutes on the request of Jadhav and his family.

In the entire press conference, Faisal made it a point to identify Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer, with his military title, calling "Commander Jadhav". He mentioned again and again that the request for the meeting was granted on "humanitarian grounds."If it was indeed a humanitarian gesture, as the spokesperson so graciously repeated several times, why Jadhav was not allowed to hug or even touch his mother and wife. The logic given by the Foreign Office for a glass wall was that it was done for "security reasons." The wall, he said was a security barrier. 

To top all of it, the meeting took place inside a container where a studio was built for the purpose, Republic TV reported. G Parthasarathy, Former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, claimed that the ladies were asked to change their clothes before meeting Jadhav. This was also visible from the pictures of the meeting shared by Faisal. 

On the face of it, the whole exercise was designed to embarrass India, to show Pakistan as a 'humanitarian' nation and to project Jadhav as a terrorist sent by Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), the Indian intelligence agency. It was not surprising that Pakistan did what it did, but what should come as a surprise to many that New Delhi fell for the trap set by Islamabad. After getting stabbed in the back by Pakistan innumerable times, India should have known better that it was not like any other family reunion but propaganda disguised as humanitarian gesture. 

Watch: Pakistan's PR stunt with Indian prisoner