BAHAWALPUR, March 6: The release of Kashmir Singh from a Pakistani prison must bring hope to the family of Sohail Shahzad, of Bahawalpur, who has been languishing in an Indian jail for the last 20 years.Shahzad, of Fauji Basti on Yazman Road, is confined in Jaipur jail.

According to his family, Indian courts have ordered his release but he is being detained illegally. Now, the matter is with the Indian Supreme Court, they say.

His mother, Nafees Anjum, 68, said when the prisoner like Kashmir Singh, guilty of espionage, could be pardoned by the president of Pakistan and released with honour, why his son’s release could not be secured through diplomatic channels. She appealed to Caretaker Human Rights Minister Ansar Burney to take up the case of his son’s release.

Shahzad’s father, Syed Manzoor Husain, passed away awaiting the arrival of his son.

Ms Anjum said Shahzad, then 30, had gone to Chichawatni to attend his friend’s wedding ceremony.

Later, the family heard that he had crossed into India, where he was arrested, implicated in cases but was acquitted of these charges by court. She said the family did not know the nature of charges. But after a four or five years of trial, court acquitted him and ordered his release. The Indian government, she continued, did not release him. His detention is extended after every six months.

A few months ago, Shahzad’s brother, Mubashir, sent an application to the Indian Supreme Court for an independent action for his release. Now, they have heard the court had accepted the plea for hearing and would be heard this month. His mother appealed to human rights bodies to make efforts for her son’s release from the Indian jail.

BEST TEACHER: Prof Dr Latif Mirza, chairman of Islamia University chemistry department, has been conferred a ‘best teacher award’ for 2005 by the Higher Education Commission.