As per Indian record, 386 Pakistanis are detained in Indian prisons, while the FO claims the number is 485. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
More than ninety Pakistanis allegedly detained in Indian jails are not on the radar of Indian authorities. A list of Pakistanis detained in India submitted to Pakistan’s high commissioner in India mentioned 386 prisoners.
Pakistan’s foreign affairs ministry and the high commission in Delhi however claim the total number of Pakistanis detained in Indian prisons is 485. There was a disparity of 99 prisoners in the figures provided by the Indian authorities.
“We have taken up the matter with the Indian authorities to clarify the discrepancy,” Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and Security Sartaj Aziz told the National Assembly on Friday in reply to a question by one of the members.
Aziz said the Indian authorities handed over a list of 386 prisoners detained in jails to Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi on July 1, 2013. According to the list, there were 108 fishermen and 278 other Pakistani civilians locked up in Indian jails.
However, according to the record maintained by the Foreign Office and the Pakistani High Commission there were at least 485 Pakistanis jailed in India. These included 172 fishermen and 313 other civilians, Aziz said. The list is based on the information received from the media, NGOs and applications from the relatives of the prisoners.
He told the house that Pakistan and India have an agreement on consular access to prisoners signed on May 21, 2008. Under the agreement, the two countries have to exchange lists of prisoners held on both sides on January 1 and July 1 every year.
“Under the agreement both governments are required to release or repatriate prisoners within one month of confirmation of their national status and completion of sentences,” said the minister.
Indians held in Pakistan
Aziz said that according to the list provided by Pakistani authorities to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad 491 Indian prisoners, including 437 fishermen and 54 other civilians were detained in Pakistan. Nine of them were already released while there was a proposal to release another 73 Indian fishermen.
“However, Indian side has not released any Pakistani prisoner not even those 31 civil prisoners who have completed their sentence and their national status was confirmed,” the minister told the house.
He informed the legislators that Pakistan released 45 Indian fishermen on May 25, 2013, one fisherman on June 17, 2013 and seven civil Indian prisoners on July 9, 2013. However, one Indian fisherman died on July 3 2013, he added.
12 ex-generals now diplomats
Aziz informed the House that among 26 non-career ambassadors and high commissioners abroad, 12 were ex-generals. Replying to a question by MNA Shaista Pervaiz, the foreign minister told the house that there were 29 non-career diplomats serving in Pakistani missions abroad, 26 of them were ambassadors.
The retired military generals were posted as ambassadors in countries such as Mexico, Amman, Brunei-Darussalam, Mauritius, Iran, Nigeria and others. Aziz told the House that during the last five years three ambassadors got two continuous postings in Europe. They included Shafqat Saeed who was posted from Brussels to Paris where he served for over three years.
Humaira Hassan was posted from Madrid to Lisbon where she was still serving and Rab Nawaz Khan was posted from Oslo to Bucharest where he was still serving.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 17th, 2013.
COMMENTS (14)
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dear sir, can I get the list of Indian prisoner in pakistan jail because my father is missing from1988 will going to dubai in a sail boot. please help me please.....
After hanging kasab; the correct figure should be 98.
@Green!: Pakistan's reputation is such that the whole world is blaming Pakistan, not only India. The filth in India is different from the one in Pakistan in that the indians know where and what it is and are working on cleaning it, whereas Pakistanis seem to be proud of theirs.
Maybe, India has done with the missing prisoners what she did unto Rana Sanaullah Haq.
Indian Wisdom
And how does India come to know when her civilians are found in Pakistani lands without valid passes?
@expaki: Got your point and you are very much right. As your name suggests you are too much disappointed with everything that happening here. I feel the same, not to an extent that I would call myself an expaki though neither would that happen until I die. Anyways coming back to what you said, I totally agree but I think this thing is just getting over discussed. Even if the newspaper is highlighting the fault of our neighbors who are pretty much our worst enemies, we still can't stick to the topic. We actually start criticizing ourselves for some other reason. Give that a break mate. Incase you do not do that, my suggestion is you should try and visit the timeofindia occasionally and then you will get to know that these indians who come here to write the trash about Pakistan 24/7, are themselves buried in filth. The only difference in them and us is, their media keep their focus on Pakistan and it just brings solace to their sad lives, also as a result they start to forget about their own issues. If our politicians are corrupt, theirs are no angels. If we have extremism, just today their hindu extremist organization targeted an art exhibition in Ahmedabad where some Pakistanis were taking part along with Indians. If we blame everything on Jews, they blame everything on Pakistan. Even their submarine that recently caught fire and exploded was being called a sabotage at first and fingers were about to pointed here. If our Awam is wrong in many ways, crime and rape are very common in India.
I hope ET publishes this. Its written with complete sincerity.
@Green!: Apologies I was not more clear. When there is an ISSUE of life, one does not use HYPOTHESIS based on PROBABILITY. Blaming a nation of MURDERING OF 99 people, needs SOLID proves. In Pakistan, our people blame all others as CONSPIRATORS and do not see what is under their own bed./- Soon some LATIFA e Azam will say that firing on ET offices was also a conspiracy to increase their publication.
who cares DI kahna jail break where 300 militants gone missing???
@expaki: Were you trying to be funny?
@Rational Liberal: "The 99 were probably murdered" In Pakistan everyone talks about "Jamati daughter" but why no family ever made this issue with Indian high commissioner in Islamabad? I am now convinced, NOT PROBABLY, but sure its CONSPIRACY of HINOOD and YEHOODS.
The 99 were probably murdered.
@Raja Feroze: "it’ll be foolish and childish to get into argument after such a UNWISE comment but by the name ‘Indian Wisdom’ i’d expect a better and more wiser comment than the one you just made. pity" I didn't get your point.....There are lot of Pakistani prisoners (read terrorists) who are languishing in Indian jails after being caught by Indian authorities.Similarly many have died in encounters also. According to the list "According to the list, there were 108 fishermen and 278 other Pakistani civilians locked up in Indian jails." We are not sure if this list also includes those prisoners nor aware, if the family members of these prisoners or individuals who have lost their life are aware of their whereabouts. More unfortunate is Pakistan sometimes even declines to accept them as Pakistani , even dead body of regular Pakistani soldiers are not received with the respect what a soldier deserves (read Kargil)..... They (authority in Pakistan) should rather come up with a complete list.....
@Indian Wisdom:
it'll be foolish and childish to get into argument after such a UNWISE comment
but by the name 'Indian Wisdom' i'd expect a better and more wiser comment than the one you just made. pity
"Disparity in lists: 99 Pakistani prisoners ‘missing’ in India"
Do you also keep records of Pakistani's who goes "missing" in India after getting training in "educational" camps in Pakistan and come to India without Visa or Passport sneaking through LOC.......