960404

Prisoners plight

Amnesty, ICRC

urged to visit

jails in valley

ISLAMABAD: Kashmiri lawyers have appealed to Amnesty International and International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) to visit the Indian jails and see the worse conditions under which the Kashmiri prisoners are kept.

Most of them are even detained without any charge, said a report compiled by a team of 13 Kashmir Lawyers in India.

Thousands of Kashmiri detainees in Indian jails are suffering from malnutrition and severe health problems., said PTV's Special Correspondent Ghulam Nabi Khayal, quoting the report prepared after visiting these jails last week.

The comprehensive report submitted to the State High Court said that the detainees lodged in the Indian states of Punjab, U.P., Rajistan, Delhi and Jammu are treated in an inhuman manner, resulting in continuous mental and physical problems.

The lawyers team visited the jails for about two months and disclosed that contrary to the official figures of a little over 700 detainees, there were thousands of Kashmiri youths lodged behind the bars unofficially. The places where they have been confined without any trial include Allahbad, Jalandhar, Jodhpur, Bihar, Kathwa, Udepur, besides others.-APP