While blaming successive Indian governments for dereliction of their duties in knowing the status of Indian Prisoners of War (PoW) languishing in Pak jails, UK based right activist and advocate Jas Uppal has announced she will move the International Court of Justice to pressurize Pakistan government to divulge the correct information about Indian Prisoners of War (PoW) and and ensure their return to India.
“Pakistan authorities should have kept the records of Indian PoWs under the rule of Geneva Conventions and it is the duty of Indian government to find out what had happened to the captured Indian army soldiers in Pakistan,” said Jas while talking to over phone from UK on Monday.
Notably, Missing Defense Personals Relative Association had already handed over a list of 54 PoWs along with evidence (Pak media reports) of their presence in Pakistan to Pak government.
Jas who had been running online ‘Free Sarabjit Singh Campaign’ said ” I have been contacted by a number of families of Indian PoWs – some from the official list of the 54 Indian PoWs and families of others who are not on the official list,” adding that with respect to the Indian PoWs, she had researched the international law.
Pakistan government has always maintained that they don’t have any PoWs in its jails.
“This is not the answer and it certainly should not have been accepted by the successive governments of India, to do so, is to deny that these brave men in uniform were ever born, this would have never happened in West ” said Jas.
Giving an example she said German government had arrested 93-year-old Hans Lupschis,an alleged ex-guard at the Auschwitz (one of the largest concentration camps built by Nazis in Poland) on suspicion of complicity in murder.
” If our friends in Europe can take action against a 93-year-old alleged criminal on ‘suspicion’ of complicity of murder 65 years after the Second World War, what is preventing us Indians in forcing Pakistan government to investigate and account in the International Court of Justice, the disappearance of the Indian PoWs in Pak,” she said.
She also gave a recent example of the military burial for Royal Air Force pilot Sergeant David Raikes’ whose body was found in 2011. His plane had crashed just two weeks before World War Two ended.
Jas said since she didn’t have an advocate’s license to practice law in India so she had instructed an advocate in India and explained to him the grounds and how to proceed in progressing the matter in India and to get the cases referred to the International Court of Justice.
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