YET another Pakistani national imprisoned in India has died, the third such reported death within the span of a few weeks. Though his cause of death is still unknown, it is deeply concerning given that the other two deaths were not of natural causes, but due to injuries inflicted in one case by inmates and in the other by jail authorities. Equally disturbing is the trend of delays in notifying and releasing their bodies, adding insult to injury for the family members. Given the BJP’s irresponsible and cynical ratcheting up of anti-Pakistani and anti-Muslim rhetoric in the run-up to and during India’s ongoing general elections, such prisoners are now even more vulnerable.

On either side of the border, there is callous indifference to the plight of these hapless victims of long-running bilateral tensions. Pakistani citizens have often complained of being provided little to no consular support in times of crisis. This is especially true for our fisherfolk, who are routinely picked up in the high seas by Indian coast guards and forced to languish for years if not decades in appalling condition in Indian prisons. In the short term, the Foreign Office must exert pressure on India to ensure unobstructed consular access to Pakistani prisoners; to provide them with humane living conditions including timely medical care; and to keep them separated from the general prison population. In the long run, there is an urgent need to sustain the recent prisoner-exchange initiative. Though often touted as ‘goodwill’ gestures, the practice of using human bodies as bargaining chips must end. Prisoner releases must continue, but there is also a need to revise policies that have led to their pointless imprisonment in the first place. Most of these poor and illiterate prisoners inadvertently crossed over land and maritime borders. They do not deserve imprisonment — or to return home in body bags — but to be immediately repatriated to their home countries and reunited with their families. This goes beyond politics.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2019