PoW families return without hope from Pakistan

The next of kin of 14 families who had gone to Pakistan to search for missing 1971 prisoners of war (PoWs), have returned home bare handed.

Jammu, June 21 : The next of kin of 14 families who had gone to Pakistan to search for missing 1971 prisoners of war (PoWs), have returned home bare handed.

Nirmal Kaur, a resident of Jammu, was one of the members of the delegation that went to Pakistan to search for her husband, Subedar Asha Singh.She went to Pakistan with hope, but returned broken hearted.

She claimed that families of the prisoners of war (PoW) were not even allowed to go inside the jails and look for their dear and near ones. Jail officials just showed jail records, which were not trustworthy.

"We were not allowed to go inside the jails and look for our relatives. They just showed us the jail records at jail's reception. In one register, I found the name of my husband Asha Singh, but against the father's name, there was a name of a Muslim person," she said. She accused the Pakistan Government of befooling the fourteen families.It is believed that there are 54 Indian PoWs in Pakistani jails. In 1983, some Indian PoWs families visited Pakistani prisons, but claimed that access was curtailed.

ANI