One of the 54 Indian Army personnel, Dharam Pal Singh from the 4th Sikh Regiment, is still languishing in Pakistan jail after being captured during the Indo-Pak war of 1971.

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's release from Pakistan's custody has once again rekindled the hopes of the families of Indian Prisoners of War (POW) who are still languishing in various Pak jails.

There are at least 54 Indian Prisoners of War (PoW), out of which some are seriously ill and some have lost mental balance or even died under mysterious circumstances, according to army veterans who spoke to India Today TV.

"54 of the Indian war prisoners are still in Pakistan jails. Some of them are believed to be alive, some might be facing serious mental and physical health issue or some might have died of torture," President, All India Defense Brotherhood, Brigadier (Retd) Harwant Singh.

Poor or absence of documentation by Pakistan

According to Brigadier (Retd) Harwant Singh, the absence of documentation of faulty details made by Pakistan authorities during the 1971 Indo-Pak War when these soldiers and officers were taken PoWs is responsible for their illegal detention by Pakistan.

"We had raised the issue with the then Indian prime minister who spoke to Parvez Musharraf but in vain. The absence of proper documentation was responsible for detention. Had the Pakistan authorities documented them, they might have been traced and their families may not have suffered for decades," Brigadier (Retd) Harwant Singh said

Citing Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's case, Brigadier (Retd) Singh said he was saved as videos showing him being manhandled by locals went viral and the matter was reported in the press.

There were no smartphones when the 54 Indian soldiers were taken prisoner.

Indian government released 93,000 Pakistanis, but could not get 54 in return

President All India Veteran Core Group, Brigadier (Retd) H S Ghuman slammed the then Union government and accused it of being "benevolent" to return 93,000 Pakistan prisoners while failing to ensure the safe return 54 Indians, who continue to languish in Pak jails.

"The irony is that India released their 93,000 prisoners but failed to get 54 Indians whose fate is not known. The reality is that their case was taken up half-heartedly. The government does not only ignore their sacrifices but also the tears of their families who still hope that they will return alive one day. This is due to the poor representation of Army officers in the Ministry of Defence," Brigadier (Retd) H S Ghuman said.

Crucial case of Havaldar Dharam Pal Singh of Sikh Regiment

Pakistan government has failed to respond to the letters written by the Indian High Commission, Islamabad seeking confirmation about the illegal detention of Havaldar Dharam Pal Singh, who according to his wife Pal Kaur is languishing in a Pakistan jail.

The Ministry of External Affairs in an affidavit submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2017 had informed the court that the Pakistan government has neither provided consular access to the prisoner of war nor did it respond to India's request to confirm Dharam Pal Singh's detention.

Indian High Commission had written two letters to the Pakistan Government on July 7 and 25, 2017 respectively.

The matter had come to light during the hearing of a civil writ petition filed by Havaldar Dharam Pal Singh's wife Pal Kaur who hails from Village Lehra Dhurkot, Bathinda, Punjab.

The war prisoner's wife had approached the court to issue directions to the Government of India to file a case in the International Court of Justice for repatriation of Havaldar Dharam Pal Singh.

"The Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs, had filed an affidavit of Shubham Singh, its Under Secretary, which states that there is no response from the0020Pakistan so far to the letters written by High Commission of India in Islamabad, seeking confirmation about detention of Havaldar Dharam Pal Singh and to provide Consular access to him," Counsel of the petitioner H C Arora told India Today.

The counsel of petitioner Pal Kaur had referred to an affidavit filed by one Satish Kumar of Ferozepur which had claimed that Dharam Pal Singh was alive and was lodged in Kot Lakhpat Rai Jail, Lahore which is also known as Central Jail Lahore. Satish Kumar in his affidavit had said he was an inmate of the same jail between 1974 to 1976.

Havaldar Dharam Pal Singh was captured by Pakistan Army in 1971. Pal Kaur in her Civil Writ Petition had told the court that husband had fought in 1971 War against Pakistan on the border of Bangladesh and was captured by Pakistan's Army.

However, the Government of India and the Indian Army treated him as a martyr as he was reported missing on December 5, 1971. The then Prime Minister Late Indira Gandhi had also condoled the death of Dharam Pal Singh by writing a letter to Pal Kaur.

The petitioner also told the court that her husband was not a martyr but was languishing in Kot Lakhpat Rai Jail in Pakistan.

She was informed by another war prisoner Satish Kumar of Ferozepur that Dharam Pal Singh was alive and both were put in the same jail between July 19, 1974 to 1976. Satish Kumar had also signed an affidavit to substantiate his claim.

Citing Kulbhushan Jadhav case, Pal Kaur had sought repatriation of Dharam Pal Singh on the bases of provisions contained in Simla Pact.

Hav Dharam Pal Singh (No. 3346846) of 4 Sikh Regiment, who fought against Pakistan in the Indo-Pak war at Bangladesh Border during the year 1971, was not cremated as his body was not recovered. Interestingly, his name was not included in the list of missing soldiers.

The petitioner also told the court that Dharam Pal Singh was not an isolated case but a number of missing soldiers were declared as martyrs during the 1971 war.

Some of them are al ive and were lodged in various Pakistan jails. Pal Kaur also cited the case of Jasbir Kaur whose husband Major Kawaljit Singh (Shaurya Chakra winner) was also in Pakistan Jail.

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