May 14, 2008	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 8, 1429

BADIN, May 13: The Indian authorities have arrested 22 Pakistanis when they were crossing into Pakistan.

They were arrested by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) at the Attari post for allegedly travelling on invalid documents, Ameer Mandhro, a relative of the arrested people, told Dawn on Tuesday.

They belonged to the Mandhro, Hingoro, Notiar, Pirzada and Kumbhar communities and lived in Khokhrapar, Malir. They have their relatives in Kachh and Bhuj in India and are called ‘Kachhis’.

Mr Mandhro said that 18-month-old Urooj Bisma, daughter of Sultan Mandhro, was among the people detained by the BSF.

Those arrested are: Sultan, Amina, Iqbal Shah, Urooj Bisma, Mohammad Hussain, Razia, Sughra, Mohammad Juma, Ibrahim, Fatima, Ami Bai, Hajiani, Zulekhan Bai, Ameer Ali, Akbar, Ashmira, Anosha, Abdul Rehman, Sher Bano, Mohammad Hussain, Abdul Karim and Ibrahim.

Mr Mandhro said the Indian authorities accepted their documents when they had crossed over to India, but their documents were declared forged when they were returning to Pakistan.

He said that relatives of the arrested people had approached MPA Saleem Hingoro and MNA Nabeel Gabol of the PPP and asked them to contact the Indian authorities for their release.