Pak to release Indian prisoner held in jail since 1973
Zeenews Bureau
Islamabad, Feb 27: Justice finally came to Kashmir Singh but a bit too late. After having sucked away 35 years of his youth, the Pakistan authorities decided on Thursday that he did not deserve death sentence which had been slapped on him. The Pak authorities in fact said Singh was not at all guilty and added he will be released soon.
Kashmir Singh, a resident of Hoshiyarpur in Punjab, was arrested by Pak authorities in Rawalpindi in 1973 on charges of spying. He was sentenced to death by a Pakistani court. However, by some stroke of luck, the sentence was never executed and he kept on languishing in Lahore jail for 35 years.
His family in Hoshiyarpur is eagerly waiting his return which is expected to happen soon.
The decision to free Kashmir Singh is a positive step in light of the fact that India-Pakistan Joint Judicial Committee has recommended the exchange of list of people lodged in jails in both the countries by March 31. The committee was formed last year to recommend steps for humane treatment and expeditious release of prisoners.
Kashmir Singh to return home to India after 35 years
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Federal Caretaker Minister for Human Rights (HR) Ansar Burney announced on Wednesday he had successfully located the family of an Indian national who had been languishing in a death cell in a Pakistani prison for the last 35 years.
Kashmir Singh had been arrested in 1973 in Rawalpindi, and soon afterward, was sentenced to death by a military court in Lahore on charges of espionage. He had been languishing in a death cell ever since, in conditions that Burney described as “hell on Earth”.
Re: Pak to release Indian prisoner held in jail since 1973
Good to hear, excellent for the POW, nice gesture.
But of all other humanitarian issues available, picking this seems a clear publicity, recognition, political-mileage stunt by Burney making the best of his few weeks in the caretaker setup...
Re: Pak to release Indian prisoner held in jail since 1973
nice gesture... this is the second pow which has been released after over 30 years...
ofcourse his social life is destroyed by now... but being alive and free is a big incentive..