`Indian spies rotting in Pak jails for years'

The Indian Express; Hiral Dave: Rajkot: 20 December, 2010,

Rajkot lawyer and activist claims he has papers that have horror accounts An RTI reply by the Ministry of External Affairs says no reply has been received from the Pakistan government in connection with correspondence by the Indian government in this regard.

AS many as 48 Indian nationals, arrested on different charges in Pakistan, have been languishing in various jails there despite completion of their sentences. In many cases, they continue to be prisoners even though consular access is being provided to them for the last four years.

An RTI reply by the Ministry of External Affairs to an application in this regard filed by M K Paul, a human rights activist and lawyer from Rajkot, said no reply has been received from the Pakistan government in connection with correspondence by the Indian government in this regard.

Paul now has raised matter with the National Human Rights Commission, calling it a violation of right to life and right to liberty. “According to the RTI reply from Nagesh Singh, director, Ministry of External Affairs (dealing with Pakistan), in June this year, there are as many as 48 Indian nationals languishing in Pakistani jails though they have completed their sentences,” said Paul. “For eight of them, consular access was granted four years ago. In case of others, consular access was granted one to three years ago,” he added.

While the Pakistan government, following orders from its Supreme Court, has begun to release Indian fishermen who have completed sentences, Paul said the issue of other Indian nationals, many of them who have been spies, should also be taken up on immediate basis. Paul sought the information on Indian nationals in Pakistani jails after one Maya Devi Yadav approached him for help in getting her son Kuldeep freed from a Pakistani Jail. Kuldeep, a resident of Ahmedabad, disappeared from Delhi in 1988. The family found he had been lodged in Lahore jail for spying. In 2008, Maya Devi moved the Gujarat High Court, seeking an interim compensation of Rs 5 lakh from the government.

“Consular access was granted to Kuldeep on July 16, 2006 but he is still in jail. He has been writing to me regularly. His letters prompted me to seek information about other Indian nationals, apart from fishermen, lodged in Pakistani jails,” said Paul.

Paul is now trying to find out the addresses and other details about Indian prisoners languishing in Pakistani jails. In a petition filed to the NHRC recently, he has requested urged the rights body to ask the MEA to furnish all details related to these prisoners. “Like Kuldeep, many who were reportedly hired for espionage by Indian agencies may be languishing in Pakistani jails for more than 10 years now,” said Paul.

In Lakhpat jail in Lahore, there are a total of 27 Indian nationals who have completed their sentences. In 2009, they wrote to Chief Justice of Pakistan seeking their repatriation. According to this letter, nine of them including Siju Ram, Birju, Asif Hidayat, Ilyas, Ranjeet Kumar, Raju Mahuly, Ganish Pandhi and Hani Chand have lost their mental balance. Paul has received a copy of this letter.