New Delhi: Officials of the Pakistan High
Commission here will visit the Tihar jail on March 30 to
ascertain the number of its nationals lodged there and verify
their nationality claims.
The High Commission had written a letter to the Union
Home Ministry seeking access to the Tihar jail, Ministry
sources said.
The High Commission officials will visit the Tihar jail
on March 30 where over 70 prisoners claiming to be Pakistani
nationals are now lodged, the sources said.
The sources said the High Commission officials will
collect all documents and photographs of the prisoners
claiming to be Pakistani nationals which they will cross
check.
These prisoners belong to the Gowhar Shahi sect, banned
by Pakistan government, and kept in Tihar Jail since April 23,
2007, after they staged a demonstration here seeking asylum in
India on the ground that their life was at risk in Pakistan.
Home Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan
will be held here on March 28 and 29. Ahead of the talks,
Pakistani High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik had met Home
Secretary GK Pillai yesterday.
Representatives from the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees had visited them recently to decide
their on their plea for refugee status.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 22:14