By NNN-APP,
New Delhi : Pak-India Judicial Committee on Prisoners recommended to governments of Pakistan and India to release all prisoners immediately or in any case before September 30, who have completed their sentences in each other’s jails.
After meeting Pakistani prisoners in Amritsar, Tihar and Jaipur jails, the committee held a meeting here to review the situation and implementation status of its previous recommendations.
Pakistani chapter of the committee comprising justice ® Fazal Karim, Justice ® Mian Muhammad Ajmal, Justice ® Abdul Qadeer Chaudhry and Justice ® Nasir Aslam Zahid while Indian members including Justice ® Nagendra Rai, justice ® Amarjeet Choudhry, Justice ® A.S Gill and Justice ® M.A Khan attended the meeting.
A joint statement issued after its 3rd meeting of the Committee here on Saturday appreciated the release of 131 Indian fishermen and six civilian prisoners (including 35 juvenile fishermen) by Pakistan and 14 Pakistani fishermen and 3 civil prisoners by India on its recommendation and further expects that its earlier recommendations for the repatriation of remaining fishermen and other prisoners be implemented at the earliest.
The Committee members who have met Pakistani prisoners in Amritsar, Tihar and Jaipur jails recommended that consular access should be provided immediately to all those prisoners in Pakistan and India who have yet not been given consular access, but not later that September 30.
In this connection, the committee desires that both the governments should follow the commitments made in the agreement on the Consular Access signed between them in May, 2008.
The Committee strongly reiterated its early recommendations that women, and juvenile, terminally ill prisoners or suffering from serious illness or physical disability, mentally retarded and those involved in minor offences like violation of Foreigners Act, border crossing, visa violation like overstaying or visiting places not covered by the visa deserve compassionate and humanitarian consideration.
Such prisoners, whether under trial or convicts be repatriated to the country of their origin at the earliest and for that purpose necessary action be taken for withdrawal of prosecution or for remission of the balance sentence as the case may require.
It recommended that legal aid should be provided to all prisoners at all stages of their cases and respective courts be requested for expeditious trial of all the under-trial prisoners for early disposal of their cases.
It also strongly recommended that the Home/ Interior Secretaries of both the countries should meet at the earliest for issuance of directions for implementation of recommendations of the Committee.
The prisoners should also be facilitated to correspond with their family members.
It was also suggested that further visits to jails by the Committee members be decided through diplomatic means in consultation with the members of the Committee.
Earlier, briefing the newsmen here, Justice ® Fazal Karim said during Indian side’s visit to Pakistan in June, arrangements were made for meeting of all Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails. For this purpose Indian Prisoners were shifted from Quetta and Mianwali to jails in Lahore and Rawalpindi.
But, he said during the present visit of members of Pakistani chapter to India from August 18 to 23, all the Pakistani prisoners were not produced before the Committee.
According to Indian authorities, 378 Pakistani prisoners are in different Indian jails while Pakistani authorities said 644 Pakistani prisoners are in Indian jails. Only 131 prisoners were produced before the committee, he said.
To make the visits meaningful and fruitful, a clause has been included in the joint statement that before finalising future visits, the members of the Committee should be consulted, he said. According to Indian authorities, there are 687 Indian prisoners including 412 fishermen in Pakistani jails but Pakistan has confirmed that there are 470 Indian prisoners including 412 fishermen. Out of the 412 Indian fishermen, 35 juvenile fishermen have since been released by Pakistan.
Justice ® Nasir Aslam Zahid said during visit of Indian members they were taken to three jails in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi and arrangements were made to produce all the Indian prisoners. He said so far 131 Indian prisoners have been released while 14 Pakistani fishermen have been set free by India.
He said it would have been better if all Pakistani prisoners were produced during our visit.
He said during the two-day visit to Jaipur, only Pakistani six prisoners were produced in jail. While according to reports there are over sixty Pakistani prisoners lodged in Jodhpur and in other jails of the area. Most of them were arrested on minor offences just as overstaying. They were regular visitors to their relatives.
He said the Committee has recommended that humanitarian view should be taken for such cases and such prisoners should be repatriated at the earliest.
Justice ® Nasir Aslam said during visit to Amritsar, the Committee members met with fifty five Pakistani prisoners including about sixteen mentally retarted persons. In some of the cases consular access was given on the spot and verification was done and they would be released as soon travelling documents were issued for them.
As far as mentally deranged prisoners are concerned, he said media and NGOs will be requested in Pakistan to locate their relatives.
When questioned on death of Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails, he said the Committee has reiterated its earlier recommendation for supply of copy of Post Mortem report to the respective high Commission in the unfortunate event of death of a prisoner in custody.
Pak-India Judicial Committee on Prisoners was set up in January last year.
The Committee held its first meeting in February this year in New Delhi.