Pak refuses to acknowledge India8217;s offer on POWs

8220;It is universal practice for the identity of POWs to be acknowledged and confirmed by the receiving country before the handing over takes place,8221; a spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs said.

Since the ministry hasn8217;t been able to get Pakistan to acknowledge that its soldiers are 8220;prisoners of war,8221; it is now trying to get Islamabad to give details of the identities of these people. Ministry officials agreed it 8220;amounts to the same thing.8221;

The officials also said that identification of the bodies of the two Paksitani soldiers had first been received before they were handed over to Islamabad. The fact, however, is that the identity of only one body was confirmed, not both.

The spokesman said India only requires a 8220;simple confirmation8221; by Pakistan of who they are. Since these POWs were not in uniform or did not wear identification discs, such a declaration was necessary before the handing over.