Pak rules out swap of Jadhav with Col Habib

Pakistan on Wednesday said it was not swapping Lt. Col. Habib Zahir (Retd) with Indian national Kulbushan Jadhav.

Regarding speculations about a swap with Jadhav, a foreign ministry spokesman said that Lt. Col. Zahir is a retired Pakistani officer who went missing in Nepal, where he had gone for a job interview in April 2017.

The spokesperson added that according to Habib’s family, he had posted his CV on LinkedIn and UN website for a job.

In response, he received a call and email from one Mr Mark stating that he had been shortlisted for the job of vice-president.

He was asked to visit Kathmandu, Nepal, for which he was sent air-ticket for Lahore-Oman-Kathmandu by Oman Airlines for an interview on 6 April 2017.

After landing in Nepal, which he visited for the first time in his life, he left Kathmandu airport (from where he had WhatsApped his pictures and boarding pass to his family), for Lumbini airport by Buddha Air.

At 1300 hours on April 6, 2017, he messaged his wife from his cellphone intimating that he had landed safely at Lumbini (a municipality 5 kilometers from the Indian border) after which his mobile appeared switched off and his family lost contact with him. “Investigations revealed that the UK cell number of Mr Mark was fake and actually is an internet/computer generated number. The website that he was contacted from was found to be operated from India and was subsequently taken down. The government of Nepal constituted a special team to look into his disappearance but there has not been any progress in the matter so far,” the spokesman said.

In view of his disappearance from Lumbini, which is 5 kilometers from the Indian border and the involvement of Indian nationals - who reportedly received him at Lumbini, made his hotel reservations and booked his tickets - Pakistan also repeatedly requested the Government of India to assist in locating him, the spokesperson said.

“However, no positive response has been received from the Indian side. His family is very distressed and also approached the UN Working Group on Enforced Involuntary Disappearances for assistance in locating him. His disappearance has also been reported in media, including outside Pakistan,” he added.