Author: Onkar Singh in New Delhi
Publication: Rediff on Net
Date: July 10, 2001
Relatives of the prisoners of war
who are still in Pakistani jails held a demonstration in New Delhi on Tuesday
and demanded their release with immediate effect.
Later they submitted a memorandum
to the Pakistan Embassy to that effect.
Maninderjit Singh Bitta, chairman
of All India Anti-Terrorist Front, who led the demonstration, accused the
present and previous governments of failing in their duty to raise the
issue with the Pakistanis in last thirty-six years.
"Some of them were taken prisoners
in 1965 war and rest in 1971 war. I am sorry to say that our governments
did not have the courage to take up the issue with the Pakistani government.
We released 93,000 Pakistani PoW and could not get 54 officers of the armed
forces released in return. It is a matter of shame," he said.
Former national badminton champion
Damyanti Tambay, whose husband Flight Lieutenant Vasant Tambay is in a
Pakistani jail regretted that the Indian government had never been serious
about the release of the prisoners of war.
"As far as the summit is concerned
we have been watching television only to see if the government is doing
anything about the release of the prisoners of war. So far except for Vijay
Kumar Malhotra nobody else had the courage to mention this point," she
said.
Seventy-year-old Diwan Singh Sethi
whose son Flying Officer T S Sethi was on bombing mission in the western
sector when he was taken prisoner after his plane was hit by enemy fire
said, "The Indian government did not know the correct date when he went
missing. Pakistanis told us that he has been missing since September 13,
1965 and not September 14 as claimed by the Indian officials."
LD Kaura, another old man whose
son Captain Ravinder Kumar is also in Pakistani custody said, "I hope the
summit brings about the release of my son and others who have been in the
Pakistani jails for over thirty years,"
Dr Bharat Kumar Suri whose brother
Major Ashok Kumar Suri smuggled out letters saying he was in Pakistani
prison wanted the government to make the release of the prisoners of war
as the main issue for the summit.
"General Pervez Musharraf is an
army officer and he would know better than anyone else what the soldiers
families go through when they are captured during the wars. I hope he would
restore the dignity of the soldiers by ordering their release. It would
be better if he brings them along," said a hopeful Damyanti Tambay.