In Dasna jail,Pak prisoner turns author

“We have received the letter,” confirmed IG,Prison,VK Gupta. A senior official has been asked to read the book after which a decision in the matter will be taken.

Abdul Matin,the writer,is facing trial in a case of bomb blast at Modi Nagar in Ghaziabad which had claimed lives of 16 bus passengers in 1996. He has already been sentenced to life imprisonment in a terror case in Rajasthan,but was acquitted in cases lodged against him in Madhya Pradesh and Punjab.

A resident of Dhowati area in Pakistan’s Sindh province,Abdul was arrested in Anantnag district in Jammu and Kashmir in 1997. Police claimed that during his interrogation,he confessed to his involvement in several blasts in India.

Jail authorities say Abdul knows 11 languages and claims to have visited several countries. He says he comes from a well-off family and his father,Haji Mohammad Yakoob,who died a few years ago,was an advocate. He also claims to be a graduate. Yogendra Jain,prosecuting officer in the Modi Nagar blast case,said Abdul has refused to accept a court-appointed advocate and argues his case on his own in the court of the Additional District Judge.

Sources in the Prison department said he spends about 10 hours daily reading books. On his request,jail authorities arrange books,and also supply him censored newspapers.

In his book,written in English,50-year-old Abdul discusses Kashmir issue,history of India and Pakistan,their relations and other issues. He has divided the book in two volumes,namely “Origins of religion and India-Pakistan relations’’,and “Uniting the democracies in India and Pakistan’’.

Dasna Jail Superintendent Dr Viresh Raj Sharma said,“Abdul has written a message that his book would strengthen India-Pakistan relations. He says that terrorism cannot be a formula for freedom or democracy.’’

Abdul started writing the book when he was lodged in Bikaner jail in November,2008. In November last year,he was shifted to Dasna jail to face trial in Modi Nagar.

He requested the jail staff to arrange stationery and resumed writing. His book runs into six long notebooks,comprising over 600 pages.