KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday directed the interior and foreign ministries to file their respective comments on a petition seeking repatriation of 17 Pakistani prisoners, who were languishing in Indian penitentiaries despite serving their terms.

Headed by Justice Iqbal Kalhoro, a two-judge bench was hearing a petition of a social welfare organisation which said that as many as 17 Pakistanis were still behind the bars since years in the neighbouring country despite the fact that they had served their respective terms.

The petitioner organisation informed the judges that as per interior ministry confirmation in 2015, a total of 17 Pakistanis — including Nasir Mahmood, son of Sakhi Mohammed; Mohammed Rafiq, son of Mohammed Nawaz Sial; Nazir Ahmed, son of Haji Lal Khan Mohammed; Yousuf Khawaja, son of Mohammed Ayub; Mohammed Usama, son of Mohammed Shafi Attar; Abdul Malik, son of Mohammed; Waseem Noor, son of Noor Mohammed; Mohammed Abdullah, son of Mohammed Zareen; Mohammed Zafar Iqbal, son of Mohammed Yousuf; Ghulam Farid, son of Mohammed Shafi; Abdul Majid, son of Mohammed Qasim; Tasneem Azeem, son of Raeed Azeem; Sikandar-i-Azam Sani, Khalid Mehmood, sons of Mohammed Ayub and Abdul Matin, son of Haji Mohammed Yaqub — were still languishing in Indian prisons despite completing their sentences.

The petitioner had also placed on record a letter of the foreign ministry to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi containing the list of 17 Pakistani prisoners with dates of confirmation of their national status by the interior ministry.

According to the letter, Pakistani mission in New Delhi was requested to take up the matter with the Indian government for an early release of the Pakistani prisoners as well as all those who had completed their sentences.

The foreign ministry letter to the Pakistan mission in New Delhi said these Pakistani prisoners had reportedly completed their sentences.

The petitioner social welfare organisation asked the court to direct the federal government to take measures for Pakistanis prisoners’ repatriation from India at the earliest.

The bench adjourned the hearing to Jan 22 and put the federal government’s law officer on notice directing him to ensure the filing of comments of the respondent authorities.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2018