NEW DEHLI – In the first high-level meeting between India and Pakistan, Pakistan High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood met with Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj earlier this week according to media reports.
Mahmood, who officially took charge as Pakistan’s envoy to India just last month discussed the current state of affairs in his first ever bilateral meeting with Ms. Swaraj.
Swaraj is believed to have requested Pakistan to review its position on Kulbhushan Jadhav, the ‘RAW’ agent who is currently on death over sentenced by Pakistan’s military court earlier this year.
Indian minister Swaraj emphasised on the fact that any progress in bilateral relations Pakistan must be based on the need to drop all charges against Jadhav and have him safely returned back to India, according to sources.
Jadhav’s case is under review by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which earlier this year stayed his death sentence. This was Mahmood’s first meeting with a top government official in India, he is also expected to meet NSA Ajit Doval and foreign secretary S Jaishankar in the next few days.
Jadhav’s arrest
Khulbushan Jadhav was covertly based in Chabahar, Iran, under the pretext of being a jeweller/businessman. He had an Iranian visa along with an Indian passport. He was assisted by RAW Sub Inspector Rakesh, alias Rizwan, a key operative who was also working undercover as a businessman dealing in jewellery,” it said, and added, “And he crossed over to Balochistan’s Mashkhel area from Saravan, Iran.”
Jadhav’s mission included spying and sabotage, in addition to fomenting insecurity and instability in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan,” the letter said, and added that Iran’s cooperation in this regard will not only improve relations between the two countries but also help reduce terrorism and unrest in the region.
Pakistan has persistently maintained that the Indian state is sponsoring terrorism, sabotage and subversion in the country. The government has presented dossiers of such evidence to the United Nations on Indian involvement in Balochistan. However, this evidence has been overlooked as the world body has paid no attention to it.”
Swaraj grants visa wish
On a positive note, Indian Minister Swaraj promised medical visas for everyone this Deepawali. Sending a tweet earlier this Thursday announcing that India would grant medical visas to deserving cases even if it’s from Pakistan.
On the auspicious occasion of Deepawali, India will grant medical Visa in all deserving cases pending today. @IndiainPakistan
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) October 19, 2017
