Pakistan recently facilitated a meeting between Mr.Jadhav and his family.
But the explicitly hostile setting of the event further dimmed mutual goodwill.
How did the case evolve?
Mr.Kulbushan Jadhav is an ex-Indian Navy officer who was arrested by Pakistani authorities on the pretext of espionage activities.
While Pakistan maintains that he was detained in Baluchistan, India holds that he was on a business trip in Iran, from where he was abducted.
A military court in Pakistan had sentenced him to death but a subsequent appeal by India in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has stayed it.
But his procession of a dual passport and his past career in the military does indeed make the case ahead difficult for India.
After multiple requests, Pakistan facilitated a meeting between Mr.Jadhav and his immediate family (wife & mother) in jail, albeit with a glass partition.
How did the meet go?
While the meeting should’ve given a positive spin for Indo-Pak relations, it has done exactly the opposite due to the hostile environment for the meet.
Pakistan turned the humanitarian gesture into a media circus, with a gaggle of hostile journalists hurled undignified questions at the women.
Also, this frenzy was upened by releasing meeting photographs and a video statement by Mr. Jadhav, in which he thanks the Pakistani government.
Insted of rationally pointing out to the several procedural lapses and official insensitivity in the episode, India too took to sensasionalism on its part.
India objected to the frisking, change of attire and removal of the mangalsutra necklace, and bindi and lamated the “religious and cultural insensitivity”.
But, significantly, most prison manuals in India too mandate the removal of all metal objects and most accessories of visitors.
Also, the several prisoner-family meetings around the world take place across glass screens, especially when they involve terror suspects.
What is the way forward?
India and Pakistan should ensure that their exchanges on sensitive cases like Mr. Jadhav’s are conducted through quiet diplomacy.
As the objective is to save Mr.Jadhav, India should employ soft diplomacy in the background to convince Pakistan with possible benefits.
As Pakistan is already in fix over terrorism charges from multiple fronts, it may see this episode as a face-saver to establish its humanitarian standards.
