Committee assures Indians of swift release

Members of the bilateral committee meet prisoners at Malir Jail.

KARACHI:

The Pakistan-India Judicial Committee has assured Indian prisoners at the Malir District Jail in Karachi that their cases will be taken up for immediate release.

The committee comprises four retired judges from either country. India is represented by justices Nagendar Rai, Amarjeet Chaudhry, AS Gul and MA Khan while the Pakistani members are justices Nasir Aslam Zahid, Abdul Qadeer Chaudhry, Fazal Kareem and Mian Muhammad Ajmal.

Committee members met 253 Indian prisoners at the jail on Tuesday and expressed surprise that the cases of 33 Indians are still dragging on because Indian authorities have not yet verified that they are Indian fishermen.

Indian prisoner Rakesh complained to the Indian committee members that authorities in India had not been able to verify his nationality despite the fact that they could easily contact his family members over the phone. One of the committee members dialled Rakesh’s family’s number in India on the spot and spoke with them.

General-Secretary of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) Saeed Baloch also presented the committee members a list of 15 Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails, in addition to 112 other Pakistani fishermen who have been in Indian prisons since 1993. “These 15 people have been withheld for lacking verification but we are ready to provide any kind of documentation to prove that they are Pakistani,” Baloch said.

Sindh Minister for Prisons Muzzafar Ali Shujra told The Express Tribune that there are between 250 and 275 Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails.

He claimed that Indian prisoners are given the best facilities, including consular access, food and clothing, but the same is not provided to Pakistanis in Indian jails.

Shujra felt that although the committee was a good forum to discuss the problems of prisoners on both sides, much more needed to be done.

The committee is expected to submit a report containing their recommendations to the governments of both countries. Members will also visit Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday morning.



Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2011.