'No PoWs in Pak. jails'

By Our Special Correspondent

ISLAMABAD, JULY 11. Pakistan today maintained that there was not a single Prisoner of War (PoW) in any of its jails and if there was any evidence to the contrary the military government was prepared to look into the matter.

The chief spokesman of the military government, Maj. Gen. Rashid Quereshi, told a news conference here today that the Pakistan Government was surprised to read reports in a section of the press that PoWs of 1971 were still `languishing' in Pakistan jails.

``Let me state categorically that there are no Indian PoWs in any of the Pakistani jails. If there is evidence to the contrary we are prepared to look into the matter,'' he said.

Maj. Gen. Quereshi also made it a point to refer to the decision of the Indian Government to release Pakistani fishermen who had strayed into the Indian waters inadvertently and said a few weeks ago the military government had released 196 Indian fishermen.

On civilian prisoners, the spokesman said that Pakistan was adopting the same procedure as the Indian Government. In response to a question he said that there were 135 Indian prisoners in various Pakistani jails for various offences including murder. Of these, 71 were awaiting deportation. ``As soon as the Indian Government acknowledges them as Indians, they can go. As far as Pakistan is concerned they are free go any time.''

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