After the first direct contact in three-and-a-half years with “retired Indian naval officer” Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death in Pakistan for alleged espionage, India on Monday said he appeared to be “under extreme pressure to parrot a false narrative to bolster Pakistan’s untenable claims”.

India arrived at this conclusion based on the preliminary report sent to New Delhi by the charge d’ affaires at the Indian high commission in Islamabad, Gaurav Ahluwalia, who met Jadhav for two hours on Monday afternoon at a makeshift jail set up in the Pakistan foreign office in the federal capital.

There was no mention in the Indian official statement on Jadhav’s physical condition.

“While we await a comprehensive report, it was clear that Shri Jadhav appeared to be under extreme pressure to parrot a false narrative to bolster Pakistan’s untenable claims. We will decide a further course of action after receiving a detailed report from our Cd’A (charge d’ affaires) and determining the extent of conformity to the ICJ directives,’’ the external affairs ministry statement said.