33 Years and Counting

All countries are run by clerks. Quality of service comes from evolution of institutions that are public-government interfaces. Neither Indian nor Pakistani institutions have evolved to a level where aam aadmi`s first reaction to government interface is not ‘fear’. Therefore it is useless to talk about how many people have knowledge of those prisoners. If somebody even provided such information to some government agency it would have been dumped into the dustbin like Satyendranath Dube’s letter to India’s PMO. Once he was killed then only we came to know about that letter. If truth has commercial value, it will surface else it will remain buried under files.

see kaalchakra nothing can be ruled out in this world but it is hard to believe that over 33 year of the thousands of people the 54 missing in action (POWs are those that are confirmed to have survived) came into contact with not even a hand ful revealed their details to the press or the public, even when each of those 54 would be striving to get information out themselves. and remember of these 33 years Pakistan had democracy for atleast 17.

Still nothing can be ruled out, but what i dont understand is why would somebody keep writing articles on chowk under such conditions and not physically investigate the matter themselves, it isnt diffcult you know if you are sufficiently motivated.

And personally I cannot think of a greater motive than to help find a parent who has been wrongefully incarcerated for 33 years.

Hindvi

Clearly, people who have kept Bin Laden hidden don`t think like you and I do. And people can exist without anyone announcing their presence.

so you think each of those 54 has the kind of support for his incarceration that Bin Laden has for his fredoom? even assuming bin Laden has been hiding in afghansistan, you think he has been in contact with thousands of people over the past 4 years?

Hindvi

Few of us meet 7000 people directly. That doesn`t mean we won`t be caught were we to hide as outlaws and word was out for our capture.

Bin Laden could be in Afghanistan for all we know. But he meets people.

kaalchakra

Bin Ladin is not kept in Pakistani Govt facilities or Jails. And i doubt he has been in contact with even 700, leave aside 7000, odd pakistanis, if he had then one or the other would him sold him out by now.

Hindvi

We can`t assume that low conscience and high conscience mean the same for everybody.

Bin Laden and his fellow terrorists have been living somewhere for a very long time. He isn`t the size of a mouse (except in morals) that none would see him. He is supposed to have received medical treatments, guests, marry family members, and so on and so forth.

But no-one has come forward to announce his presence.

i dont know about you but if I suspected my father was rotting away in a foreign jail for the past 33 years I wonty be writing article after article on chowk. I would rather go to the country even if it was in siberia and try locating him or die trying.

Families of soldiers missing in action hold onto dreams that they may have survived even fatal air crashes etc for years on end we know this is well known in the US after every conflict from WWII, to Korea to Vietnam. That is the nature of filial bonds. Families launch expeditions and personal searches for their loved ones.

In this case it shouldnt be difficult at all if there are 54 such prisoners and at an average each prisoner came in contact with only 4/5 different people each year that means the 54 came in touch with 200-250 people. Over 33 years that figure touches 7000.

Of that 7000 there isnt even a handful with conscience enough to come forward and reveal this gross injustice?

it is easy to have such a low opinion of the character of citizens of an enemy country but i dont believe all 7000 pakistanis who might have come in contact with them could have such a low conscience.

Re: # 13
I see what you`re trying to say, but what would that achieve, except that she herself would be caught and hanged as a spy?

Hello Simmi, you know you`re not going to get a lot of answers here. I thought of you when I read about Sarabjit Singh, and that in an awful way, at least his family will have closure, no matter what.
I think it`s easy for people who know nothing about you or your life to say stop torturing yourself of how dare you blame Pakistan. We`re talking about one individual family here, but it must of course degenerate into tu-tu main-mains (no English translation for that because we do it so well.)
I think we will know the answer one day. Even the families of victims of the East German secret service and General Pinochet know now what happened, and those were not even POWs. You and I will be old women, but we will know the answer in our lifetimes. Keep trying...and keep being so brave.

kaalchakra:

There are several hundred Pakistanis rotting in Indian jails, many of whom may be quite innocent, such as fishermen. But I have not read about any of them being a soldier. Maybe someone can correct me if I am not well-informed.

``Pakistan lost the war and was able to secure the release of all its prisoners, India won the war and has not been able to secure the release of its few prisoners.``

If true, then it is absolutely amazing.

Something must be deeply, fundamentally, indescribably wrong with us as a people.

So wrong that I can`t believe it. We must be holding SOME Pakistani soldiers about whom Pakistani families have been asking for decades. Aren`t we?

reply to 3 and 4

I am talking of soldiers- Indian army officers and men who were captured alive during the 1971 war- I know there are a number of civilians who are languishing needlessly on both sides of the border and I would be happy to see them released. I dont beleive in nations or wars but they happen, so one has to accept. I also accept that people die in wars. I am just saying that the Pakistanis themselves announced the capture of these men. As per all international conventions it is upto themnow to tell us what happened to these men.

I am just trying to get information on that and have them released. General MuSharraf is a soldier. he would tell you it is every soldier`s right to be sent back to his country after war ends and to send back his remains if he dies. This is not a ``how dare you blame pakistan issue``- things happen, have happened- now let`s resolve it and put it behind us. Whose urns are lying in Kot Lakhpat? Are any of these soldiers still alive?

I am sorry but there is no reason to be optimistic. After having denied their presence in Pakistani jails for such a long time, the Pakistani government cannot now admit to their presence there even if they are alive.

It is no use pointing fingers now but the blame rests squarely on Indian leaders; Pakistan lost the war and was able to secure the release of all its prisoners, India won the war and has not been able to secure the release of its few prisoners. Shame on such victory!

Oooops, Sarabjit Singh is/was not a soldier. So his release cannot be requested on that basis.

But if there are soldiers held captive for decades in each other`s countries, then those need to be immediately released.

Are there any Pakistani soldiers locked up for two decades in Indian jails. If there are, then India should first release them, and then ask for Sarabjit Singh`s release.

If there are none, then omar quraishi`s # 4 and mohammed majed`s # 3 are in extremely bad taste.