Pakistan tightens security ahead of Kulbhushan Jadhav's meeting with family

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities said today they have deployed sharpshooters at the foreign ministry's office where Indian death row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav will meet his wife and mother.

Jadhav, 47, would be meeting his family today at the foreign office in Islamabad.

The exact time of the meeting is not immediately known but officials said it would be around midday or early afternoon. The duration has also not been confirmed but it may last for an hour, according to sources in the Foreign Office.

Jadhav's family is flying to Islamabad via the UAE.

Strict security measures have been taken on the occasion of Jadhav meeting his family at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), officials said.

Police and paramilitary security forces including sharpshooters have been deployed at the MOFA to deal with any untoward security situation, they said.

Roads leading to the Constitution Avenue, on which MOFA is located, have been closed for traffic. Special security passes have been issued for those visiting the Foreign Office, the officials added.

Pakistan has announced it would issue photos and a video of the meeting and also allow the family to interact with media, if India agrees. Officials also said Jadhav's family would not interact with the media.

Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April, following which India moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in May. The ICJ halted his execution on India's appeal pending the final verdict by it.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav alias Hussein Mubarak Patel from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran.

India, however, maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.