Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar, chairperson of Bardashat, a civil society organisation striving for peace and tolerance among individuals and societies, Monday hailed the release of an Indian prisoner, Gopal Das, after he was pardoned by President Asif Ali Zardari and called upon the Indian authorities to reciprocate the gesture by releasing Pakistani prisoners languishing in Indian jails in spite of having completed their sentences.
“We believe that peace is the only route to human development and can never happen in situations of injustice and human right violations. Forwarding the same goal for building peace, there are many Pakistani nationals who are in Indian jails and their family members are surviving merely on the hope that their breadwinners will return home some day,” Nilofar said.
Nilofar said that the Joint Judicial Committee on India-Pakistan Prisoners, set up in January 2007, recommended release of all Pakistani and Indian fishermen in custody. The committee comprises eight retired judges of the High Court and Supreme Court of both the countries but is inactive since August 2008.
“We have to address this gross human right violation without further delay. We cannot allow indifference and apathy to the poorest of the poor of both countries and demand immediate relief for the damned and dispossessed like Mai Sakina of Thatta, whose husband is in the Indian prison for the past 20 years,” Nilofar stated. In his letter from the Central Jail, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, dated August 8, 2008, Hussain Bhayani Mullah wrote that his sentence was over and his release was overdue.
“As civil society representatives, we urge the two governments to release the prisoners and ensure the implementation of the otherwise inactive Counsellor Access Agreement signed by the two governments in 2008. This will be viewed as a goodwill gesture and will go a long way in building confidence between Pakistan and India,” Nilofar stated.
