PESHAWAR, May 18: The parents of the five Pakistani students, arrested in Kabul one month back on suspicion of spying, have called upon the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) to make efforts for their children’s release.

They have sent a letter to the chairman of the commission, Afrasiab Khattak, informing him that their sons were acquiring medical education in Kabul and were in the final year of their studies.

The students are identified as Naveeden, s/o Misbahuddin of Charssada, Mohammad Iqbal, s/o Gul Mohammad of Kabul (Swat), Bukhtzaman, s/o Wahidzaman (Swat), Gul Yahya, s/o Mohammad Raheem of Bisham, and Rasheed Ahmad, s/o Mohammad Hussain of Swat. Their parents refuted the allegations of spying, stating that their children were only students.

The HRCP had earlier raised the issue of Pakistani prisoners before it was raised by the Pakistani government on an official level. In most cases, the families of detained Pakistanis in Afghanistan have been contacting the commission in this regard.

The issue of Pakistani prisoners was raised by an HRCP delegation, headed by Mr Khattak, in his meeting with Hamid Karzai, head of the interim government in Afghanistan.