Author: Dharmendra Rataul
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: October 3, 2001
A large number of Indian prisoners
languishing in Pakistani jails are turning insane because of unhealthy
living conditions and torture. Despite having completed their jail terms
many of them were still imprisoned there.
This was disclosed by Buta Ram,
a resident of Chawk Mehta (Amritsar), who was a part of the group comprising
31 Punjabi youths repatriated to India by Pakistan through the Wagha check
post. They said they had met more than a dozen people in the Kot Lakhpat
Rai Jail (Lahore) who had lost their mental balance and many of them were
unable to speak listen or comprehend anything.
Gurdip Singh, a resident of Burj
in Fatehgarh Sahib, also supported Buta Ram's version saying he had befriended
three men during his eight month jail term in Pakistan who had told him
harrowing tales of the suffering they had to undergo. He said those who
had completed their terms wanted to return home but were awaiting action
from both the governments.
All the 31 released men were received
by Deputy Commandant BSF, S. K. Wadhwa while Lt. Col. Saif of Pakistan
Rangers, accompanied by officials from the Indian High Commission, came
to the border check post to facilitate their return to India.
Meanwhile, the released men complained
that they had been cheated by travel agents. They had gone to Lebanon m
search of better prospects but ended up in Pakistan after being arrested
in Turkey, en route to Italy, for not having valid immigration documents.
The Turkish army handed them over to the Iranian police, which in turn
forcibly them on the authorities through the Baluchistan border, a few
months ago.
"We were arrested by the Pakistan
police and sent to Quetta prison (Baluchistan) from where we were shifted
to Kot Lakhpat Rai jail," said one of the freedmen. They were given prison
terms ranging from two to eight months and were repatriated following the
efforts by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.
Happy to reach home, these men said
that those aspiring to go abroad should be wary of unscruplous agents and
never travel without valid documents. They said there were at least four
more men like them lodged in the Quetta Jail, facing an uncertain fate.
Many of these young men had gone
to Lebanon on a valid visa. "We wanted to go to Italy as it is more prosperous
and gives better wages. We tried but did not get the visa, so we decided
to sneak into the country," said Gurdip Singh.
Asked about the fate of the Indian
prisoners, second secretary, Indian High Commission, Islamabad, R. K Sharma,
said they were trying to repatriate more such prisoners and were in touch
with the Pakistani government.
