Five Pakistanis languish in Indian jail despite completing their terms

The fate of five Pakistani nationals, languishing in a jail in the national capital, is uncertain as Pakistan has refused to accept that they are its citizens.

According to highly placed sources, the Pakistani nationals were arrested at different points of time, and charged under the Official Secrets Act, among other things. They are keen to return to their country and lead a normal life, but Pakistan is refusing to accept them as its citizens in order to "hide its anti-India terror activities and agenda from the global arena".

The five suspected Pakistani spies have been waiting for deportation for the past one year to five years, even after their family members have acknowledged they are Pakistani citizens, the sources told IANS.

The Foreigner Regional Registration Offices (FRRO) department of Delhi Police has been waiting to deport the five men, who were arrested for their alleged involvement in spying inside India between 2007 to 2015.

They have completed their prison terms in Lampur prison, located in outer Delhi's Narela.

Officials from the FRRO have approached the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi several times and sent numerous letters along with proof of their citizenship, "but they have been turned down every time", the sources added. "The High Commission has not confirmed their identities and, as a result, these Pakistani nationals have no choice but to remain in prison," the source told IANS.

IANS managed to access their names, addresses, and charges under which the men have been jailed in India. Three of them belong to Karachi and two are from Pakistan's Punjab province.

A senior official told IANS, "They are suspected spies and came to India to execute operations. They are trained as spies in terrorist camps in Pakistan used by the ISI against India for secret intelligence operations, and other terror operations."

"They have been identified as Mohammad Hassan, a resident of Pakistan's Punjab, who was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police on October 8, 2012; Mohammad Kamir, a resident of Lahore, who was arrested from Delhi Gate in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh; Abdul Jaffar, who was arrested in 2009 under the Official Secrets Act; Mohammad Hanim, who was arrested in 2012; and Mohammad Idris, who was arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur. The last three are all from Karachi in Pakistan," the officer said.

"We want to release them from jail and deport them to Pakistan as they have already served their sentences or jail terms, but we cannot free them in India which is a risk and against protocol. We are also waiting for when the Pakistan High Commission will accept them as its nationals. They are all praying to God for a miracle and eagerly waiting to meet their family members," the officer said.

(Sanjeev Pal can be contacted at sanjeev.p@ians.in)

--IANS

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