More than a month after The Sunday Express first reported the plight of 12 ‘‘mentally unstable’’ prisoners languishing in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail, India has formally taken up the case of one prisoner, Daya Ram, with Pakistan. The prisoners have been stuck in Pakistan despite serving out their jail terms because they have been unable to provide details about their families in India. State police in India have also been tardy in locating the prisoners’ relatives. After publishing their names and personal details on June 12, The Sunday Express set about tracing the prisoners’ kin. Relatives of three prisoners were traced, all of them living in Uttar Pradesh. One of these prisoners was Daya Ram, whose report appeared in the newspaper on June 26 along with that of two others. Tirath Ram was stunned to see his brother Daya’s photograph in The Sunday Express. Daya’s family has no idea how he landed up in a Pakistan prison after he went missing three years ago. Having given up hope of finding him, it conducted his last rites a year ago. The prisoner’s relatives are now asking how they can bring him home. South Block has taken note of this plea and the Indian High Commission in Islamabad has sought Daya Ram’s release on the basis of The Sunday Express report. After the High Commission was granted consular access to 77 prisoners at Kot Lakhpat jail, Delhi confirmed the nationality of 64 other detainees. But Islamabad is yet to order their release. Pakistan’s delay in processing its request has got India worried. The Foreign Ministry took up the matter with the Pakistan High Commission here last week. Islamabad has said it would do its best to expedite the process. When that happens, Daya Ram could be one of the prisoners walking out of Kot Lakhpat. Meanwhile, South Block is looking up previous records to locate Daya’s identity documents as it would help push his case through faster. But sources say the fact that his family has been traced to Jagdishpur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar district ought to be sufficient for Delhi to issue an emergency travel certificate if a valid passport is not found. The fact that there is someone to receive Daya here is enough for the government to back his case. This may encourage it to consider the cases of Mohammed Rahat and Muhammad Kamal. The Sunday Express traced Rahat’s brother Farhad Ali to Aligarh. He has volunteered to take care of Rahat whenever he returns. Muhammad Kamal from Allahabad does not have any immediate kin, but he does have relatives like aunt Saliha Begum, who lives at Allahabad's Vaidnathwali Lane, who are willing to look after him. At the very least, the prisoners’ identities have been established so that the Government can arrange for their return. It is hoped that the goodwill generated by the peace process will make Pakistan respond positively.
