NEW DELHI: Six Pakistani prisoners of war were killed when guards opened fire when a group of prisoners tried to overpower them and succeeded in snatching a rifle. One guard was wounded when a prisoner fired at him with the rifle. It was the second major incident at a prisoner-of-war camp this month. Eight prisoners were shot dead on Oct 3, when they attempted to attack an Indian Brigadier at a camp in Madhya Pradesh State.

Defence officials, commenting on today’s [Oct 13] incident, said that while the guards were being attacked, another group of prisoners rushed at the sentries at a gate and another group tried to scale the camp walls. A Defence Ministry Press release said the guards opened fire in self-defence… . This resulted in deaths of the prisoners of war.

… In Islamabad a Foreign Office spokesman expressed serious concerns over the firing on Pakistani POWs by Indian security guards… . Pointing out that today’s incident had taken place in less than a fortnight of a similar incident, killing eight Pakistani POWs, he said the frequency of such firing incidents is a matter of grave concern. The spokesman said a strong protest is being lodged with the Indian Government… .— News agencies

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2022