LAHORE, July 2: Relatives of Pakistani prisoners (still languishing in Indian jails) have appealed to President Musharraf to direct the Foreign Office to take up the matter (of their detention) with New Delhi during the bilateral talks being held in the Indian capital on Tuesday (today).

They staged a demonstration in front of the Lahore Press Club on Monday against the illegal confinement of their family members in India.

They regretted that India had not released many Pakistani prisoners despite the completion of their sentence several years back.

They said that on the one hand the Indians were maligning Pakistan by visiting our jails under the pretext of finding their members lost in Indo-Pak wars and on the other we were not allowed to see our dear ones detained across the border.

The protesters said at least 20 Pakistanis who had completed their imprisonment in the Agra Jail were on hunger strike for the last 24 days.

They asked Islamabad to persuade New Delhi to allow access to human rights activists to the detained Pakistanis.