No deserters, two soldiers write from Rawalpindi jail

Five years after Lance Naik Jagsir Singh and Sapper Mohammed Arif went missing after the Kargil war, their families have reason to smile. They received letters from the men, currently lodged in a jail in Rawalpindi. Singh and Arif were captured by the Pakistani army when they were on their way to a forward post soon after the end of the war and had been proclaimed deserters by the commanding officers of the 108 Engineers Regiment.

South Block sources said Indian Embassy officials were allowed to forward letters written by the two men to their families as a gesture of goodwill by the Pakistan government. Singh, who is yet to see his daughter Kuldeep, wrote to his mother Chhotu in a letter dated June 14 from barrack number 8 of Rawalpindi Central Jail.

Singh’s family members said he has mentioned that Sapper Arif is with him and hopes he is released soon.

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Meanwhile, the families have moved on. While Singh’s father died three years after his capture, his wife has moved to her parental house. Arif’s wife was married off into another family while his mother passed away.

Meanwhile, the External Affairs Ministry is trying to ensure consular access is provided to both men.