'Another Indian on death row in Pak jail'

ISLAMABAD: After Kashmir Singh, leading Pakistani rights activist Ansar Burney has found another Indian on death row, Karpal Singh, languishing in a jail in Punjab province since 1992.

Burney, former Pakistan Human Rights Minister, said on Tuesday that workers of his organisation had come across Karpal in the course of their welfare work in prisons.

Karpal, who hails from Gurdaspur, was convicted of murder and destroying property in 1992 and is currently in a prison in Punjab province.

"Interestingly, while the case was registered in the railway station in Faisalabad, Karpal Singh was convicted by an anti-terrorism court in Lahore," Burney said on phone from London, expressing doubts about whether Karpal had been given a fair trial.

Burney had earlier facilitated the release of Kashmir Singh, also on death row, on March 3 this year after spotting him in a prison in Lahore, where he had been languishing for 34 years on charges of spying.

During his years in prison, Karpal's name had also been changed to Fateh Mohammed. Burney said his organisation is currently trying to locate Karpal's family in India. All that is known about Karpal's family is that his father's name is Das Singh.

Burney's revelation came at a time when a four-member Indian team of bilateral judicial committee on prisoners is touring Pakistan to visit the Indian nationals lodged in this country's jails.

Burney on Tuesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, urging them to commute the sentences of all prisoners on death row, including Indian nationals Karpal Singh and Sarabjit Singh, to life imprisonment.

The rights activist also called on Gilani to order the release of all prisoners in Pakistani jails, including Indians, who had completed their sentences.

Burney said all death sentences should be commuted to life imprisonment as 65 per cent of prisoners on death row in Pakistan "are innocent or victims of inadequate trial, false witnesses and enmity". They included Karpal Singh and Sarabjit Singh, he said.

Referring to the prisoners who had completed their sentences, he said: "After completion of the sentence, the detention of such prisoners is illegal and unlawful and a clear violation of justice and human rights."

Burney, who served as human rights minister in the caretaker government before the February 18 general election, highlighted the cases of several Indian prisoners who were still in Pakistani prisons despite having served their sentences.

Among them was Teena Peka, 38-year-old wife of Rajesh, a resident of Mumbai. She was arrested and given one-year jail term in 1996 but is still awaiting release.

Another Indian woman, Naqaya, 38, the daughter of Dharam, was sentenced to prison for four months in 2007. Yet another mentally-ill Indian woman, whose identity is not known, is waiting to be released and sent back to India since 2007, Burney said.

"It is in the greater interest of justice and human rights to convert all such death sentences into life imprisonment without any further delay and release all prisoners who have already completed their jail terms," he said.

Any discrimination in showing mercy to foreign prisoners would be a "clear violation of justice and human rights", he said.

Other Indian prisoners who are still in Pakistani jails despite completing their sentences are Ram Parkash, the son of Dewan Chand, sentenced to 10 years in jail 1997; Saju Ram, 20, son of Jatan Ram, given a four-month sentence last year; Birchu, 28, son of Comlais, sentenced in 2006; Ganash Pandi, 29, son of Kana Pandi, given a two-month sentence last year, Gomagh Singh, son of Mehar Chand, who was given a four-month sentence in 2006; Din Mohammad, son of Mir Mohammad, given a three-month sentence last year; Shabuddin Mir, 63, son of Sarajuddin Mir, sent to jail for illegal entry in 1991; Ilyas, son of Badlu, who was given a two-year sentence in 2003 and Bola, son of Diala.

Burney said other Indians like Gopal Das, 49, the son of Behari Lal, and Surjeet Singh, 69, the son of Sucha Singh, were also in Pakistani jails.

Similarly, Mohammad Muslimuddin, the son of Abdul Aziz, Ramu Ram, the son of Shamay Ram, Khursheed Ahmad, the son of Abdul Ahad, and Arif Hadayat, the son of Saleem Hadayat, were in jail though they too had completed their terms.

He said there were two Indian prisoners  Qasim, 75,  son of Mohammad, and Mohammad Amin, 66, son of Haji Ali Mohammad  for whom there are no records. "It looks like they could be prisoners of war," Burney said.

There were also three Indians  Kaldeep Singh, 37, son of Chanda Singh, Kaldeep Kumar, 41, son o