Kashmir Singh to return home to India after 35 years

ISLAMABAD: Federal Caretaker Minister for Human Rights (HR) Ansar Burney announced on Wednesday he had successfully located the family of an Indian national who had been languishing in a death cell in a Pakistani prison for the last 35 years.Kashmir Singh had been arrested in 1973 in Rawalpindi, and soon afterward, was sentenced to death by a military court in Lahore on charges of espionage. He had been languishing in a death cell ever since, in conditions that Burney described as “hell on Earth”.A HR Ministry statement said that after locating Singh, Burney had launched a campaign through the ministry and through his own HR organisation, the Ansar Burney Trust (ABT), to search for Singh’s family.ABT acting Chairman Syed Fahad Burney said the family had now been located in Hoshiarpur (Indian Punjab), where Singh’s wife and family had been waiting for his return for the last 35 years.On Wednesday morning, Burney visited Central Jail Lahore to meet Singh and to inform him of the progress they had made for his release and on locating his family, the statement said, adding that Singh thanked Burney and requested him to accompany the former when he would return to India. Singh also requested that a suit be provided, which he could wear for his homecoming. Burney promised that he would fulfill both of Singh’s wishes, and would also ensure that adequate steps were taken for his rehabilitation back in India, the statement said.