Lawyer Sarah Bilal talks to Wakeel Khan, the father of one of the prisoners, Hamidullah, outside the Central Jail in Peshawar on Monday. PHOTO: REUTERS
Six Pakistanis, arrested in Afghanistan, later released from Bagram Prison and currently behind bars in Peshawar Central Prison, met their families after eight years.
The detainee included Hamidullah Khan, Pak Jan, Jan Sher, Salman, Muhammad Raiz, Imran Khan and Abdul Karim. They belong to North and South Waziristan agencies except for Hamidullah, who had been living in Karachi for the past 20 years before he was arrested in Afghanistan.
The detainees were allowed to meet their families and their lawyer from the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) who is pursuing the case at the Lahore High Court (LHC). Justice Khalid Mehmood Khan of the LHC had directed the interior ministry to facilitate the meeting.
“Seeing my son after so many years brought tears to my eyes, and I could not help holding on to him. The first thing he asked me was about his mother. He said that it was good that she was not here because she would never let go,” Wakeel Khan, father of Hamidullah, said according to a statement issued by JPP.
Director JPP Sarah Bilal told The Express Tribune that they were not given time to investigate the purpose for which the detainees went to Afghanistan and how they were arrested. They had filed cases for these six prisoners in 2010.
“It remains unclear why these people cannot go home. No evidence has been produced against these six citizens, nor have they been charged with any crime. We urge the government of Pakistan to accord these citizens the rights they have been denied for so long in US custody,” she said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 3rd, 2013.
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