Strongly criticising the treatment meted out to Kulbhushan Jadhav's mother and wife by Pakistan, Congress leader Veerappa Moily on Wednesday called it a "diplomatic failure" on the part of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
"The manner in which Kulbhushan Jadhav's family was treated is inhuman. MEA should have ensured what kind of protocol is arranged for the family. It's a diplomatic failure on the part of our MEA and the country," the former union minister told ANI.
He added that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj or Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have taken up the matter with their counterparts in Pakistan before Jadhav's kin went to Islamabad.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Pakistan disregarded the cultural and religious sensibilities of former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav's family, who met him on Monday in Islamabad.
The wife and the mother of Jadhav were asked to remove mangalsutra, bangles and bindi, besides having been asked to change the attire, for "security" reasons.
After the meeting, Jadhav's mother and wife were also harassed in heavily guarded foreign ministry office by Pakistani journalists.
Jadhav is on a death row in Pakistan over charges of terrorism and spying for India's intelligence agency- Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
On May 18, 2017, the International Court of Justice stayed the hanging after India approached it against the death sentence.
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