Fifty-four Indian soldiers taken prisoners by Pakistan during the war in 1971 have been languishing in their jails for 43 years in the past. The number was provided by the Ministry of External Affairs but the Ministry of Defence has not so far produced their list to the Supreme Court which is hearing a case on the subject. Why there is no cohesion between the two ministries is a question that mystified the court. In any case, the petitioners demanding justice in the case of Saurav Kalia, who was tortured to death by the Pakistani barbarians wanted that the Government of India approach the International Court of Justice to consider the case as it was covered by Geneva Convention. The Government of India has expressed its inability to approach the International Court because there is the bilateral agreement between the two countries which stipulates that the prisoners of wars would be repatriated. The question arises that India released 93,000 Pakistani POWs in the light of Shimla Agreement of 1972. Why not all Indian POWs were repatriated simultaneously but were left to languish in Pakistani jails.
Not only that, the Government of India did not do anything concrete all these years to seek repatriation of her imprisoned soldiers. The Court observed that it is just possible some of them may no more be alive. As such it has demanded that the Government of India to tell the court whether pension and other benefits have been sanctioned in favour of the wards of these POWs and also submit the status report on these 54 POWs so that the court is able to decide what could be done in the matter.
All that one can say is that the Government has adopted very callous attitude in regard to the matter of our 54 POWs with Pakistan. We don’t buy the plea that Pakistan will deny presence of any Indian prisoner in her jails. The issue has to be probed into and international community will have to intervene in the light of Geneva Convention to impress upon Pakistan that she is duty bound to reveal the actual position of these fifty four war prisoners.
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