Joint forum demands Pakistan, India expedite nationality verification of jailed citizens

90 days are adequate for verifying someone’s nationality:

Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy

The Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace & Democracy (PIPFPD) has demanded that the government on either side of the border conduct nationality verification within a fixed time frame, which should not exceed 90 days.

In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, the forum expressed concern over the case of Rubeena - a resident of Moosa Colony in Pakistan’s Hyderabad who, along with her four-year-old daughter, is languishing in a jail in Jammu for the past four years after her husband allegedly abandoned her in New Delhi.

“Rubeena is in prison even after completing her sentence, because Pakistan is yet to verify her nationality,” claimed the statement by the joint body of peace activists.

According to media reports, Rubeena said she visited the Indian capital in November 2012 for medical treatment of asthma, but her husband disappeared with her documents and money.

She was arrested on November 6, 2012 and her sentence completed on October 7, 2013. Consular access was provided on February 26, 2013 in Amritsar. Nearly four years have passed but her nationality is yet to be verified.

Pakistan Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar recently took notice of her case and inquired about the details. He directed the authorities to take action within 48 hours.

The PIPFPD highlighted another similar case: Rashid Mallah, a Pakistani fisherman who is in a jail in Kutch in western India because his nationality also remains unconfirmed.

Last year 14 Indian prisoners returned home from Pakistan long after serving their sentences because the Indian government took ages to confirm their nationality.

“It is to be noted that this is one of the prominent reasons for many prisoners languishing in jails for many years,” read the statement. “It is also important to note that there have been cases in the recent years that even in the case of death of a prisoner, the body is not sent to the family for months until the nationality verification is completed.”

The PIPFPD demanded that nationality verification of prisoners be carried out within a fixed time frame and should not be more than 90 days. “Also, the verification must definitely be done before the completion of the sentence of any prisoner in either country.”

The joint forum also demanded that once the sentence had been completed, a person should not be kept in prison. “Until the time that the nationality verification has not been conducted, adequate measures should be ensured towards the right to safe and secure life within the premises, the breach of which should be considered the gravest of human rights violation. No prisoner should suffer because of delay in nationality verification.”