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Khalid Mehmood, Kashmir Singh reflect Pak, Indian mindsets

* Media reports point to difference between treatment meted out to Indian and Pakistani ‘spies’ in jails
* Say 48 Pakistani prisoners languish in Indian jails even after serving their sentences

ISLAMABAD: As the dead body of ill-fated Pakistani prisoner Khalid Mehmood arrived back home on Monday, harsh questions are being asked by media over the Pakistani government’s pardoning and release of an Indian spy, Kashmir Singh.

Having seen off Kashmir Singh at Wagah Border last week amid joy and laughter, Pakistanis assembled again yesterday at the same point to receive the body of an innocent Pakistani cricket-lover amid tears and greif.

Mehmood had visited India to watch the Pak-India cricket series, and was reportedly picked up by Indian secret agencies. Indian media reported that Mehmood had died of severe torture at the hands of Indian jail officials.

The arrival of his body in Pakistan puts a question mark over India’s human rights groups.

Bhago Begum, the Pakistani citizen who was freed last year from an Indian jail, described as “dreadful” the conditions suffered by Pakistani prisoners.

She termed the authorities of Indian jails “heartless”, as Pakistani prisoners remained a target of routine “physical abuse” and verbal humiliation at the hands of Indian officials.

There are many other Pakistani nationals who continue to suffer at the hands of the Indian authorities without trial.

On the other side of the border, an Indian national, Kashmir Singh, was pardoned by President Pervez Musharraf and was released from a Pakistani jail last week.

On his way home from Wagah, Singh carried memories of humane treatment in Pakistani jails, despite his being a spy - a fact he admitted as soon as he returned to India after his 35-year imprisonment.

The grey-haired Singh looked physically fit and cheerful after his release, in sharp contrast to the miserable condition of Pakistani prisoners languishing in Indian jails, who unlike Singh do not catch the attention of human rights activists.

Talking to the media, Singh termed his release a “humanitarian gift from President Pervez Musharraf.” The internationally publicised release and the jubilation in Singh’s home village raised questions about the plight of Pakistani prisoners languishing in Indian jails.

The comparison of his figure and complexion with that of Bhago Begum speaks volumes about the treatment meted out to Pakistani prisoners in India.

48 Pakistanis in Indian jails: According to reports, as many as 48 Pakistani prisoners are languishing in jails across Indian Punjab, all of whom have completed their prison terms.

Many of the prisoners have not even been granted consular access, which is mandatory under international conventions that both Pakistan and India are signatory to.

The Asian Age reported that 60-year-old Pakistani Mukhtar Ahmad of Kasur, currently in Amritsar’s high-security central jail, has spent 17 years in various prisons across India.

The jail officials said that they were “helpless” and could not release the 48 detainees since they would be “guilty” of violating the Foreigners Act the minute the prisoners were permitted to step out of the jail premises.

“We have no ulterior interest in retaining these people. But we can only follow the instructions from Delhi,” said Superintendent SP Singh.

And past experience shows that Delhi could well remain silent for years. The apparent lethargy on the part of the Indian bureaucracy in processing the cases of the 48 Pakistanis in Amritsar Jail is surprising.

Ranjan Lakhanpal, a Chandigarh-based lawyer and civil liberties activist, fought for three years for the release of Fida Hussain and five other Pakistanis who had languished in Indian jails years beyond their sentences.

By contrast, a jail reformation process is being pursued in Pakistan and the Ministry of Human Rights is taking various initiatives, an official told APP.

As many as 550 juvenile prisoners in Balochistan province were recently released on the directives of Caretaker Human Rights Minister Ansar Burney, he added. Similarly, the cases of a large number of people imprisoned for the last 15 to 30 years, have been expedited. app

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