Released from Pakistani jails on May 24, after 17, 16 and 13 years respectively, three Indian prisoners from Jammu and Kashmir, Shahabudin, Pervez Ahmed and Mangal Singh are now stranded in Amritsar as the J-K government is yet to send any confirmation about them to the Amritsar district administration. The three men are presently lodged at Sadar police station here and claim that they had inadvertently strayed into Pakistan territory. “The area where we live is infested with militants, who might kill us if they come to know that we have been released from Pakistan,” said Shahabudin, a native of Poonch. “We will return when our government gives the nod, but cautiously.” According to Mangal Singh, a resident of Jammu, the prisoners were seeing the light of day for the first time in past several years as they had been kept in dungeons and were often starved. Pervez Ahmed, from Kashmir, added that they had been unable to stay in touch with family for three years because of strict jail policies. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Tejvir Singh says that the prisoners should be home soon. “We have informed the J-K Government about their release and would hand over to them as soon as we get an indication from them,” said the deputy commissioner.
