83 missing defence personnel still in Pakistan jails, Supreme Court told

India believes there are at least 83 missing defence personnel, including prisoners of wars of 1965 and 1971, waiting for their release from Pakistan’s custody, an affidavit filed by the Union government in the Supreme Court has disclosed.

India believes there are at least 83 missing defence personnel, including prisoners of wars of 1965 and 1971, waiting for their release from Pakistan’s custody, an affidavit filed by the Union government in the Supreme Court has disclosed.

Of the 83 names that figured in the list of defence personnel, 62 personnel were enumerated as prisoners of wars, mostly from the war between the two countries in 1971 during Bangladesh’s liberation.

According to the document submitted by the ministry of external affairs (MEA) before a bench, headed by justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, the Centre furnished a list of 83 defence personnel to the Pakistan government on March 8, 2021, seeking their release.

“The list of 83 missing Indian defence personnel is enclosed. The esteemed ministry (of foreign affairs of Pakistan) is requested to look into the matter, their whereabouts, and for the early release and repatriation of the missing Indian defence personnel,” the letter, issued through the High Commission of India in Islamabad, said.

Of the 83 names that figured in the list of defence personnel, 62 personnel were enumerated as prisoners of wars, mostly from the war between the two countries in 1971 during Bangladesh’s liberation.

Among the 21 defence personnel believed to be in captivity in Pakistan and who are not prisoners of wars, the oldest cases are from 1996. In that year, five Indian army men, including one Captain, went missing. In 1997, two army men went missing again. One of them was Captain Sanjit Bhattacharjee.

Sanjit was part of a platoon patrolling along the Indo-Pak border in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat. On April 19, 1997, Captain Sanjit along with Lance Naik Ram Bahadur Thapa went missing while 15 others belonging to the platoon returned to their camp. The captain’s family was informed the same day he went missing.

The MEA’s affidavit has been filed in response to a petition filed in the Supreme Court by Captain Sanjit’s mother, Kamla Bhattacharjee. The 84-year-old mother had approached the court in February 2021, demanding suitable directions to the Centre for ensuring safe return of her son from Pakistan.

On March 5, 2021, the apex court asked the Centre to inform it about the whereabouts of Captain Sanjit, besides adducing a list of similarly placed officers of the Indian armed forces who were still languishing in Pakistan jails.

In response, the MEA submitted a communication dated March 8, 2021 to the Pakistan government regarding 83 missing Indian defence personnel.

About the whereabouts of Captain Sanjit, the government maintained that the Pakistan government has not acknowledged his presence in its custody till date and that the Government of India has been pursuing this matter regularly through diplomatic and other available channels.

“The High Commission of India in Islamabad has been regularly taking up the matter with the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs for ascertaining the whereabouts and early release and repatriation of missing Indian defence personnel, believed to be in Pakistan’s custody. The name of Captain Sanjit appears in the list of missing Indian defence personnel shared with Pakistan through various Notes Verbale issued by the High Commission of India,” stated the affidavit, reviewed by HT.

The Centre added that it is making all possible efforts to get information regarding Captain Sanjit, and that it would “continue to raise this issue with the Government of Pakistan, requesting it to respond on the status of Captain Sanjit Bhattacharjee.”

About the petitioner’s demand to issue specific directions to the Centre for taking up the matter with Pakistan, the MEA’s affidavit banked on two orders, one by the Supreme Court in 2005 and another by the Punjab and Haryana high court in 2020. These orders held that no specific direction can be issued to the government in cases of missing defence personnel while they are expected to use diplomatic channels to get the Indian nationals back.

The petition was listed for hearing before the court on Wednesday but it could not be taken up. The case is expected to come up on Friday.