Mohammad Jamil
There has been a question mark on Indian courts, yet there are some conscionable elements in India who are willing to take the risk of the reaction of the Indian government and Hindu extremist organizations. A Division Bench of the Supreme Court of India, on the writ petition filed by Professor Bhim Singh senior Advocate of Supreme Court, has taken notice of the illegal, improper and unconstitutional detention of nearly 254 Pakistani and AJK prisoners languishing in Indian jails for over a decade. The Supreme Court has asked the central government to submit the details of Pakistani prisoners who have crossed over border illegally; their crime record, actual number of prisoners under trial or under judicial custody, and repatriation of those who have already completed their sentence but languishing in jails due to confirmation of nationality status.
Pakistan and India had signed a pact in 2008 granting consular access to prisoners in each other’s jails with a view to lessening the woes of prisoners of both the countries. It is deplorable that most of the prisoners incarcerated in Indian and Pakistani jails were those involved in minor offences such as crossing the border unwittingly, staying with an expired passport, over-staying their visa, or fishing in the territorial waters of the other country mistakenly. Unfortunately, these prisoners have borne the brunt of Indo-Pak hostility during last many decades. Despite the initiation of peace process/composite dialogue in 2004, the plight of prisoners remained lamentable. Two Pakistani prisoners had died in Indian custody in 2008 one Pakistani citizen was Mehmoud Khalid.
He had gone to India in 2005 to watch a cricket test match where he lost his passport. He was subjected to sever torture resulting in his death. Unfortunately nobody could save Khalid – neither any lawyer like Ansar Burney, nor any human rights organization. Another Pakistani prisoner had expired in Indian custody is of Akram 35, who crossed the border in the Kasur area by mistake on February 8, 2008 and was arrested by the Indian authorities. He was a patient of schizophrenia. Akram’s brother, Aslam claimed that his brother was tortured to death by the Indian authorities. He said he saw marks on his face. What is shocking for most of Pakistanis is the post-mortem report of Muhammad Akram, as his heart, kidneys, lungs, liver and intestines were taken out from the body before handing it over to Pakistani authorities.
Such inhuman treatment of prisoners certainly needs immediate attention of the political leadership of both the countries especially India towards this humanitarian issue. With the accord that grants consular access to prisoners in each other jails, it was hoped that prisoners would not be meted out inhuman treatment. Taking the initiative, Pakistan had announced that it would release nearly 100 Indian prisoners in a goodwill gesture. According to a data provided by Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman, Pakistan released 2,657 Indian prisoners while India has freed 827 Pakistani prisoners since 2003. Going one step further in expressing goodwill, the government of Pakistan had released an Indian spy, Kashmir Singh, on humanitarian ground. It is pertinent to mention here that Kashmir Singh had confessed his crime after his return to India, which showed Indian government’s involvement in terrorist acts.
But in spite of reciprocating the gesture, India had sent the dead bodies of two Pakistani prisoners in 2008, which exasperated the people of Pakistan. Watching media coverage of a hale and healthy Indian spy going back to his country amid warm farewell, and receiving the dead bodies of Pakistani prisoners in return, whose body parts were missing, was heart-rending not only for the families of deceased prisoners but also for the entire nation. Indian prisoner Surjeet Singh, who spent more than 27 years in Pakistani jails on charges of espionage, was released from Kot Lakhpat jail on 28th June 2012 and handed over to Indian authorities at Wagah Border. Soon after his release, Surjeet Singh confessed that he spied for Indian Army and Indian Intelligence Agency ‘RAW’ (Research and Analysis Wing). In a brief talk after his release, Surjeet Singh said that he had a pleasant time while being jailed in Pakistan, as Indian prisoners were being treated well. He however added that he kept on missing his home and family. Upon his arrival in India, he complained that no one from Indian government bothered about him after he had been arrested. Though Indian government denies that Surjeet Singh was Indian spy, but Surjeet’s statement had belied Indian claim. The modus operandi of Indian Army and Intelligence Agencies is to hire poor villagers from border areas for spying in Pakistan, and once they are caught, their families suffer indefinitely without any support. Having that said, sending a large number of spies by RAW is an established practice, and these spies carry out subversive activities in Pakistan.
