Islamabad has strongly condemned the “extrajudicial killing” of a Pakistani prisoner who was incarcerated in India-occupied Kashmir’s Kot Bhalwal Jail since 2006, and demanded that New Dehli immediately shares details of this incident.
In a statement issued by the Foreign Office on Friday, the Indian charge d’affaires was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a strong protest was lodged against the “extrajudicial killing of a Pakistani prisoner, Muhammad Ali Hussain, by Indian occupation Forces in a fake encounter that took place in the Arnia, IIOJK (Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir)”.
Hussain had been jailed in Kot Bhalwal Prison in India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir since 2006.
“The Indian diplomat was told that Mr Hussain’s death under mysterious circumstances at a location away from the prison has once again substantiated Pakistan’s long-standing position that Indian Occupation Forces in the IIOJK (Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir) are routinely involved in undertaking choreographed attacks and extrajudicial killings of Pakistani and Kashmiri prisoners.” the statement said.
It added that the “narrative being spun that Muhammad Ali Hussain had allegedly attacked the security forces and attempted to escape when he was being taken to a suspected weapons’ smuggling site was not only fallacious but deceptive.
“The reality is that Hussain’s death was nothing but cold-blooded murder”.
Indian authorities allege that Hussain was a militant and claim he was killed during an operation carried out for the recovery of hidden weapons along the India-Pakistan border near Jammu.
According to Hindustan Times, police claimed that Hussain had snatched the rifle of a constable and fired at law enforcers during the operation. They maintained that he was injured during the episode and later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.
The FO said Pakistan “outrightly” rejected the “implausible explanation proffered in the case of Muhammed Ali Hussain, and demanded that the Indian government must immediately share details of this particular incident, including a credible post-mortem report.
The report, the FO said, would help determine the cause of the death and undertake a transparent investigation to bring to account whoever was responsible for the murder of the Pakistani prisoner.
“The Government of India has also been called upon to ensure prompt and expeditious repatriation of the mortal remains of the deceased to Pakistan, as per the wishes of his family,” the FO added.
Moreover, it raised “serious concerns” over the safety, security and well-being of other Pakistani prisoners in Indian custody.
In connection with the matter, the Indian charge d’affaires was also reminded of the case of Zia Mustafa, another Pakistani prisoner, who was “murdered by Indian authorities in a similar fake encounter last year”, the FO statement read.
It reiterated Pakistan’s call to the international community to hold India accountable for its “gross and systematic violations of international humanitarian law” and ensure that Pakistani and Kashmiri prisoners under Indian custody were not “expended as cannon fodder in the execution of India’s nefarious designs in the IIOJK”.
