Indian families search Pakistani jail for kin
About a dozen Indian men and women scan records and visit cells at a Pakistani jail in an effort to trace family members missing since the 1971 war between the two nations.
About a dozen Indian men and women on Saturday scanned records and visited cells at a Pakistani jail in an effort to trace family members missing since the 1971 war between India and Pakistan, officials said.
Indian families have been asking Pakistan to help find their relatives since dozens of Indian soldiers and airmen disappeared while fighting near the border.
The families suspect Pakistan is still holding 54 Indian soldiers. Pakistan has countered that it is has no prisoners of war and welcomed families who wanted to make checks.
Fourteen men and women began their search by visiting Lahore's high-security central jail. "The Indian families are here, and we will cooperate with them," said Mohammed Afzal, a jail official.
Nirmala Kaur, who is seeking her husband, Assa Singh, broke down in tears on Friday night when reporters asked about the prospects of seeing her husband alive after more than 35 years.
"I simply cannot die until I am clear whether my husband is alive or dead," she said. "I am very much hopeful that I will go-back home with my husband."
GS Gill was looking for his brother, HS Gill, an air force commander who had managed to send letters home from a Pakistani jail for a while.