Vadodara, Dec 01: Pakistani officials had deliberately
prevented the 99 Indian fishermen languishing in Karachi jail
from meeting the Gujarati delegation which visited Pakistan in
mid-October, one of the 99 fishermen who were released on
November 26 alleged on Monday.
The 99 fishermen, who were in Amritsar after being
released at the Wagah border, reached Vadodara around
midnight.
"We were aware of the visit of Veljibhai Masai-led
delegation to Pakistan five days before they arrived in
Karachi on October 13th last," Mehboob Khan, one of the 99
prisoners released from the custody, told.
But we were not allowed to meet them (the delegation),
Khan alleged.
"When we asked them (jail authorities) as to why we were
not allowed to meet the visiting delegation they told us that
some Pakistani prisoners had attempted to break the jail and
run away, he added.
So, we were prevented from meeting the delegation citing
security reasons, he informed.
The fishermen languishing in Pakistani jails were eager to
meet the members of the Veljibhai delegation to inform them
about the acts of violation of human rights and torture being
carried out by the jail authorities, Khan said.
The meeting between the members of the delegation and
fishermen could have exposed the tall claims of Pakistan that
the arrested fishermen were being looked well after in jail,
Gujarat Fisheries Minister Dilip Sanghani said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, December 01, 2008, 00:00