Picking up the cudgels for C. Ibrahim, India-born Pakistani passport-holder now in the custody of the Kerala police, MPs from the State in both Houses of Parliament today sought the Centre's intervention in his case and other such instances.
The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by A.P. Abdullakutty (CPI-M) during Zero Hour.
He described the bid to deport Mr. Ibrahim as cruel, and urged the Central Government to take a humanitarian view of the case. Stating that in the Malabar region more such cases existed, he charged the Kerala Government with harassing them.
Another CPI(M) member, Varkala Radhakrishnan, questioned the rationale behind treating Mr. Ibrahim as an enemy and seeking to deport him when the man knew only Malayalam and had been living in the country for several years.
Other members from the State — A.K. Premajam, N.N. Krishna Das, Francis George and A.C. Jose — wanted to speak, but they could only associate themselves with the issue owing to constraints of time.
Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha through a special mention, A. Vijayaraghavan (CPI-M) echoed the sentiments raised by members in the Lok Sabha.
The problem in the case of Mr. Ibrahim and other such persons lies in "establishing'' their nationality.
In many cases of civilians straying into Indian or Pakistani territory, the key issue is that of determining whether the detainee is an Indian or a Pakistani.
Usually, Indian and Pakistani diplomats are given "consular access'' to determine the nationality of such a person.
Mr. Ibrahim's case is, however, a little more complicated owing to the fact that he was born in India, reached Pakistan and then returned to India on a Pakistani passport.
However, informed sources said it was doubtful if Pakistani diplomats had ever been given "consular access'' to Mr. Ibrahim.
A person can only be handed over to the other country if the Indian or Pakistani Government agrees to accept the individual.
In the absence of agreement, many
such persons simply continue to languish in the custody of one or the other
Government.