E-Paper
Pakistani court gives govt a month to deport jailed Indian national
Ansari was arrested in 2012 after he allegedly entered northwest Pakistan illegally to meet a woman he befriended online
A court in Pakistan has given one month deadline to the federal government to complete formalities to deport Indian prisoner Hamid Nihal Ansari, whose three-year jail term ended on Saturday.
New Delhi demanded Islamabad should immediately free Indian national Hamid Nehal Ansari, amid concerns about the prolonged incarceration and ill-treatment of prisoners in Pakistani jails.
Ansari was arrested in 2012 after he allegedly entered northwest Pakistan illegally to meet a woman he befriended online. He was tried by a military court on charges of espionage and given a three-year sentence in December 2015. Legal experts have argued the 33-year-old should have been freed earlier as he had already been in prison for three years at the time of his sentencing.
The external affairs ministry sent a note verbale or formal communication to Pakistan on December 11 expressing “serious concern” that Indian officials have not been granted consular access to Ansari, and seeking his immediate release after completion of his sentence, people familiar with developments said.
The note verbale further said Pakistan has shown “no consideration” for Ansari’s pre-trial custody nor provided information on charges levelled against him.
The people cited above said there has been no Pakistani response to more than 90 requests by India for consular access to Ansari, and that this is a violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
There are at least 11 other Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails who haven’t been released after they completed their sentences and their identities were confirmed by Indian officials, the people said.
(With agency inputs)