'Search for Indian PoWs futile'

ISLAMABAD, JULY 22. Chances of getting information about the 54 Indian prisoners-of-war (PoWs) lodged in Pakistani jails are fading as the massive combing operation launched in the country's prisons is yet to produce results.

``We don't have any such prisoners in our jails,'' officials in the Pakistan Interior Ministry said.

The combing operation does not seem to have paid off as authorities are yet to receive any information regarding the presence of Indian PoWs.

Soon after his return from Agra, the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, had ordered the Interior Ministry to check all prisons in the country for Indian PoWs.

He had assured Indian leaders that all possible steps would be taken to get information about them.

While relatives of the PoWs say they have been held in Attock Fort and Kot Lakhait jail near Lahore, officials deny these claims.

They have asked the Indian Government to provide clues about these PoWs, rendering the task of tracking them down easier.

Gen. Musharraf has already ordered the release of 25 Indian civilians, to reciprocate the gesture of the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, who ordered the release of all Pakistani civilians ahead of the Agra summit.

The officials said all prisons had been searched more than once, but no PoW had been found.

In 1991, authorities conducted two rounds of searches for PoWs, but these proved futile.

The recent searches had put the number of Indian prisoners at 155, but none of them was a PoW, they added.

The release of 70 Indians is pending the approval of the Indian Government.

- UNI

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Section  : International
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