Prisoner’s death in Amritsar jail sheds light on long wait for prisoners to get citizenship confirmed by Pakistan

Jaffar Alam was a prisoner in the Amritsar Central Jail in Punjab. On June 30, the 55-year-old “Pakistani national” was allegedly attacked by another prisoner, also a “Pakistani national,” in the jail and died later. After Alam’s death, the prison authorities sent a letter to the Pakistani embassy asking for his body to be collected. However, the authorities are not hopeful of a response, as Alam has already spent 15 years in prison, waiting for confirmation of his nationality.

“Earlier too, we buried bodies of deceased Pakistani nationals whose citizenship was not confirmed by their country. They died while waiting,” said an official at Amritsar Central Jail.

India on Monday (July 1) appealed to Pakistan to expedite the process of verifying the citizenship of 75 civilian prisoners and fishermen in Indian custody who are believed to be Pakistani nationals and whose repatriation is impossible due to lack of proof of their citizenship.

Sources said the list included Alam and the man accused of attacking him, Shahid Ali, 32. After Alam’s death, the number was reduced to 74. Last year, there were 62.

Alam was arrested under the Foreigners Act in 2009 and completed his sentence in 2012. He has been awaiting release since then. However, Pakistan has not confirmed his citizenship despite repeated communications from the Amritsar prison authorities.

Similarly, the accused Ali also served a sentence under the Foreigners Act and waited for the Pakistani government to confirm his identity. Now, he will face a new case on a murder charge.

“These are prisoners who have been arrested without a passport after entering India from Pakistan. Such prisoners are often sentenced by the court to one to two years in prison. These are mostly people who have crossed the border by mistake. However, they remain in jail until the Pakistani government confirms their identity and takes them back. We start communicating with the Pakistani embassy as soon as such prisoners reach us,” explained an official from Amritsar prison.

Alam and Ali even gave their addresses to the police when they were arrested. While Alam claimed to be a resident of Musa Colony in New Karachi, Ali said he was from Lahore.

“Most of these prisoners are not in their right minds. Many of them are not wanted by their families. Or their families are too poor to seek redress from the Pakistani authorities to get them back. Moreover, the Pakistani embassy has to take back such prisoners after they complete their sentence. Many such factors delay the process of their release even after they complete their sentence and they remain stuck in Amritsar jail,” the officer added.

When the Punjab and Haryana High Court intervened

In January this year, during an inspection visit to the observation home in Faridkot where remanded and convicted juveniles are kept, a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice NS Shekhawat, found that two Pakistani boys, acquitted by the Juvenile Justice Board on April 18, 2023, were still staying there.

The boys were apprehended on September 1, 2022, near the India-Pakistan border at Tarn Taran. They were arrested under Section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946 for allegedly illegally crossing the international border.

“The possibility of mistaken entry into Indian territory on foggy days cannot be ruled out, nor can the minors be able to differentiate between the territories of the two countries due to lack of wiring or gates at that location,” the commission noted while acquitting the boys.

While hearing an ex officio petition in the case of the Pakistani boys, Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji sought a list of Pakistani nationals who have completed their sentences but are still languishing in Punjab prisons.

The intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court prompted Indian authorities to rush to repatriate the boys to Pakistan. After Pakistani authorities in Attari refused to take custody of the pair, citing lack of documents on March 29 and April 19, they were finally sent back on April 27.

Meanwhile, Deputy Solicitor General of India Satya Pal Jain informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the process of repatriation of 30 Pakistani civilian prisoners who have already completed their sentences and are currently lodged in the Central Jail in Amritsar is currently under active consideration by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The process will be carried out in consultation with all the stakeholders and will take some time.

Thousands of people also repatriated from Pakistan

Under the provisions of the 2008 bilateral consular access agreement, India and Pakistan exchange lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen in each other’s custody twice a year, on 1 January and 1 July.

India has given the names of 366 civilian prisoners and 86 fishermen who are Pakistanis or believed to be Pakistanis. Similarly, Pakistan has given the names of 43 civilian prisoners and 211 fishermen who are Indians or believed to be Indians. Meanwhile, the Indian government has also requested Pakistan to immediately provide consular access to 47 civilian prisoners and fishermen who are Pakistanis and believed to be Indians, and they have not been granted consular access so far.

The prisoners include those whose citizenship has been confirmed but are in jail because they cannot pay the fine. Lawyer and human rights activist Navjot Kaur Chabba said she has helped such prisoners. “We paid a fine of Rs 4 lakh to two such Pakistani women whose sentences were over but they did not have money to pay the fine,” Chabba said.

“It is sad to see that someone died in prison because his nationality was not confirmed. No one who has served his sentence should be kept in prison on either side of the border. Governments on both sides should make efforts for such prisoners,” Chabba added.

Since 2014, 2,639 Indian fishermen and 71 Indian civilian prisoners have been repatriated from Pakistan. This figure includes 478 Indian fishermen and 13 Indian civilian prisoners repatriated from Pakistan from 2023 to date.