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Saturday, May 17, 2008
Pakistan, India to sign prisoners’ accord
NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan are to sign an agreement next week for immediate declaration of arrests of each other’s nationals, early release of those crossing borders and the Line of Control (LoC) inadvertently, and consular access to all prisoners within three months of arrest. The agreement, to be signed on Wednesday during External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s first visit after the new government took reigns in Pakistan, will confirm the agreement which home secretaries of both countries reached regarding the exchange of prisoners and release of those who had completed their sentences. Mukherjee will meet his counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad for the fourth round of the composite dialogue completed last November. The respective foreign secretaries will meet the next day and prepare an agenda for further dialogue. The agreement for consular access for prisoners in each other’s jail has been almost finalised. Both countries have previously taken a pro-active stand to provide relief to prisoners. Besides appointing a joint committee of judges to look into the issue faced by prisoners, both countries have released and exchanged lists. The Indian side had handed over a draft of an agreement on consular access to Pakistan at the ministerial meeting on October 3, 2005.The home secretaries of both countries finalised the draft agreement last July. iftikhar gilani
Courtesy Daily Times