ISLAMABAD: For at least one man, who is part of the delegation in Pakistan to look for Indian servicemen missing in action (MIA) since the 1971 war, a 36-year-old search for his brother has ended, albeit on a note of sadness tinged with pride.

Ajit Singh, who is here with 14 other Indians representing 54 MIA, said on Tuesday he found out that his brother, Capt. Giriraj Singh of 5 Assam Rifles, was killed in action on December 3, 1971, the very first day of the war.

Mr. Singh, 68, and a resident of Hissar in Haryana, was given the information by Major (retd) Tanveer Shehzad of the Pakistan Army, who said he had come came face-to-face with Capt. Singh during the war.

Brave fight

"He told me that my brother fought very bravely, that the Pakistani soldiers who fought him were honoured to have fought such a courageous man, and that they buried him with the respect due to such a soldier," said Mr. Singh at a press conference here.

The 23-year-old Capt. Singh was at Bhurey Jal post in the Chamb sector, which saw the earliest action in the war.

The retired Pakistani officer, who is a parliamentarian of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League and Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, told Mr. Singh that his brother was buried near the post, which is now in Pakistan.

"For me, the visit has been successful. I will return home with the satisfaction of knowing what happened to my brother, that he fought bravely and was killed in action," Mr. Singh said.

He said if the Pakistan Government allowed him he would like to visit the spot where Capt. Singh was buried.

Identified

The Indian delegation traced Major Shehzad, who is the son of the renowned singer Mallika Pukhraj, through a newspaper report, quoting an unnamed officer as saying he was prepared to volunteer information to the visitors as he had fought in the war in the Chamb sector where 32 Indian soldiers were killed.

"He gave a good description of my brother, and when I showed him his photograph, he recognised him," Mr. Singh said.

But the most important identification match came from two letters that Major Shehzad said he found on Capt. Singh, one from his father and another from his sister, both making a reference to a plot in a Haryana defence housing scheme. "That confirmed everything for me," Mr. Singh said.

Others in the delegation said this development showed that there could be several people in this country with information about the remaining missing Indians.

"We appeal to the government and the people of this country, the public to come forward with any information they may have about our loved ones," said G.S. Gill, who is looking for his brother, Wing Commander H.S. Gill.

Appeal to newspapers

He appealed to Pakistani newspapers to publish the photographs of the missing men, and asked those with any information about them to contact the Indian High Commission.

The delegation particularly wants to establish contact with Pakistani armed forces officers who, like Major Shehzad, were in direct combat with the Indian units to which the missing men belonged, and with officials who were in charge of the repatriation of the Indian Prisoners of War.

Visit to two more jails

The Indian visitors will travel to two more jails on Wednesday, in Swabi and Dargai in the North-West Frontier Province, before returning home on Thursday. They have not had any word yet about their request for a meeting with President Pervez Musharraf.

"If he will meet us, we would like to spend a few minutes with him to convince him that our proofs [showing the capture of the missing Indian men by Pakistani forces and their presence in various jails in this country] are real, and it is up to him then. Our proofs are irrefutable," said Mr. Gill.

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