Pakistan Frees Kashmir Singh: Reaches India After 34 Years

Owais Mughal
An Indian national who was languishing in Pakistani jails for the past 34 years has been released on March 3, 2008. He was granted amnesty by the President of Pakistan. Amid a festive and emotional ceremony, he crossed the border into India today (March 4, 2008) and got reunited with his family. In my opinion this is a good humanitarian gesture by the Pakistani Government and should go a long way in upholding human rights and highlighting the plight of prisoners in both countries. Kashmir Singh‘s wife Pramjeet Kaur and their two sons received him at the Wagah border.

We hope both countries ascertain the cases of more prisoners like him in their respective jails and those who are found languishing without trials for long time should be freed.
According to Dawn news of March 4, 2008:

Kashmir Singh was released from the Kot Lakhpat Central Jail on the orders of the President of Pakistan who granted him amnesty on an appeal of federal caretaker Minister for Human Rights Ansar Burni. According to the petition filed for his release by Mr Burni, he was arrested in 1973 on spying charges. He belongs to Hoshiarpur in Indian Punjab and has three children. Mr Singh will be handed over to the Indian authorities on Tuesday at the Wagah border. Mr Singh thanked the President and Mr Burni for his release and called for regular prisoner exchanges between India and Pakistan.

According to a news excerpt from Daily News

The minister Ansar Burni stated, “I request that Kashmir Singh who has already spent 34 long years in a death cell be released. We cannot give him two sentences, he has already spent 34 years behind the bars, and he should not be hanged but released to spend his remaining days with his family who he has not seen in all this long time. He is at present in Kot Lakhpat jail Lahore and waiting to see a free world soon.” This will also show to the people of India that our NGOs and we the Government of Pakistan are willing to release even those who they did not know about, Burney concluded.

Chronology of Events:

Kashmir Singh used to be a police constable in Amritsar. He was arrested in Pakistani city of Rawalpindi and remained detained in Pakistan since 1974. He was convicted and sentenced to death by the Court of Field General Court Martial, Commanding Officer 40 Field Regiment Artillery, Lahore Cantonment on April 8, 1977. The then President of Pakistan dismissed his mercy petition on March 14, 1978. He remained in the death cell for nearly 34 long years and in this time he never received a single visitor.

On March 3, 2008 Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice disposed of a petition seeking release of Indian prisoner Kashmir Singh, as the federal government’s law officer informed the court that President of Pakistan had already accepted his (Singh) mercy petition.

References:

1. The Daily Dawn, Pakistan
2. The Daily News, Pakistan
3. The Daily Times, Pakistan
4. Outlook India
5. Hindustan Times, India
6. Express India
7. Calcutta News, India

Photo Credits: The Daily Dawn, Reuters and Associated Press