Death of ailing Pakistani national in Afghan prison prompts concerns

Behram Shah, a resident of Kohat, breathed his last on August 18 while incarcerated in Mazar-e-Sharif jail

ISLAMABAD:

The death of an ailing Pakistani national in an Afghan prison has sparked significant concerns and calls for the interim Afghan government to work professionally to promote the values of brotherhood and harmony between the two countries.

Behram Shah, a resident of Kohat, breathed his last on August 18 while incarcerated in Mazar-e-Sharif prison. Afghan authorities had apprehended him based on a complaint filed by an Afghan citizen, Abdul Hamid, accusing Shah of failing to fulfil a financial guarantee.

This incident, as one analyst noted, marks another instance of the Afghan interim government's purported laxity in such affairs, raising questions about its ability to manage similar cases even two years into its tenure.

According to Afghan jail authorities, Shah had been grappling with a cardiac ailment and was undergoing treatment at Mazar-e-Sharif's Civil Hospital.

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During his medical evaluation, the attending physician recommended his transfer to Kabul for an operation. The doctor's report expressed grave concerns about Shah's health, advocating for his immediate release.

However, Afghan judge Maulvi Mubarak ignored the doctor’s report and made Shah’s release conditional on providing another guarantor. The death of a Pakistani citizen is an act of negligence on the part of the interim Afghan government.

Earlier, two Pakistani labourers were rescued from an illegal private detention of an Afghan citizen, the analyst added.

He said that the Afghan foreign ministry was not even aware of the incident and the inhuman treatment meted out to the Pakistani prisoner.

Expressing their dismay over the inhumane and morally reprehensible treatment of Pakistani citizens, officials have implored the interim Afghan government to consider Pakistan's four-decade-long hosting of Afghan refugees, with a view to safeguarding bilateral relations between the two neighbouring nations.