DNA
ISLAMABAD, Aug 26: Pakistan on Friday summoned the Indian Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad to foreign ministry to lodge a strong protest on the extra-judicial killing of a Pakistani civil prisoner by Indian Occupation Forces in a fake encounter in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The Indian forces had extrajudicially killed Pakistani prisoner, Muhammad Ali Hussain, who had been jailed in Kot Bhalwal Prison in the IIOJK since 2006.
The Indian diplomat was told that Hussain’s death under mysterious circumstances at a location away from the prison, had once again substantiated Pakistan’s long-standing position that Indian Occupation Forces in the IIOJK are routinely involved in undertaking choreographed attacks and extrajudicial killings of Pakistani and Kashmiri prisoners.
He was also reminded of the case of Zia Mustafa, another Pakistani prisoner, who was murdered by Indian authorities in a similar fake encounter last year.
It was underscored that the narrative being spun that Muhammad Ali Hussain had allegedly attacked the security forces and attempted to escape when he was being taken to a suspected weapons’ smuggling site was not only fallacious but deceptive, the Foreign Office spokesperson said.
He said the reality was that Hussain’s death was nothing but cold-blooded murder. Pakistan’s serious concerns over the safety, security and well-being of other Pakistani prisoners in Indian custody were also raised.
While outrightly rejecting the implausible explanation proffered in the case of Muhammed Ali Hussain, Pakistan has demanded that the Indian government must immediately share the details of this particular incident.
Pakistan sought a credible post-mortem report to determine the cause of death and undertake a transparent investigation to bring to account whoever is responsible for the murder of the Pakistani prisoner.
“Government of India has also been called upon to ensure prompt and expeditious repatriation of the mortal remains of the deceased to Pakistan, as per the wishes of his family,,’ the spokesperson added.
Pakistan also reiterates its call to the international community to hold India accountable for its gross and systematic violations of international humanitarian law and ensure that Pakistani and Kashmiri prisoners under Indian custody are not expended as cannon fodder in the execution of India’s nefarious designs in the IIOJK.
