Shahid Hussain,
Karachi: Thanks to the efforts of the civil society in India, the process has begun that is likely to lead to the release of a 78-year-old Pakistani national who has been under-trial in Ajmer of Rajasthan for the last 19 years.
The Pakistan Peace Coalition (PPC), in a statement issued here on Monday, welcomed the efforts of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties and its General Secretary Kavita Srivastava to release a Pakistani virologist named Dr Khaleel Chishti. The civil society organisation was supported in its efforts by renowned filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, veteran journalist and author Kuldip Nayar, former Indian Naval Chief Admiral L Ramdas, journalist and peace activist Jatin Desai of Focus on Global South, Mazher Hussain of Cova as well as other Indian activists.
After being under-trial for 19 years, a session’s court in Ajmer of Rajasthan finally sentenced Dr Chishti to life imprisonment (14 years). But thanks to the efforts of people across the border in India, the elderly and ailing doctor will finally have the opportunity to breathe the air of a free man.
In a statement, the PPC’s General Secretary BM Kutty said that the civil society in India took notice of Dr Chishti’s plight, after the prisoner’s daughter, Amna Chishti, stepped her efforts to secure her father’s release. On April 11, Indian civil society activists submitted an appeal to the president of India and asked her to exercise her power to “grant pardons, reprieves, respites and remissions of punishment”, as well as the power to “suspend, remit or commute the sentence” of people convicted of offenses in the name of humanity, mercy and reciprocity to release Dr Chishti.
Moreover, Srivastava of PUCL had visited Dr Chishti along with Anant Bhatnagar, District General Secretary PUCL at Central Jail in Ajmer on April 14th. On April 20, a PUCL delegation led by Dr. Radha Kant Saxena (Vice President), a national expert on jails, met P. K. Deb, Home Secretary, government of Rajasthan, and presented to him a memo urging him to “request the chief minister of Rajasthan and his cabinet of ministers to advise the governor of Rajasthan to invoke his powers under Article 161 of the Constitution of India and see that Dr. Chishti returns to his home in Pakistan alive and as soon as possible.
In their appeal to the Indian President, the civil society and human rights activists mentioned that Dr. Chishti had gone to Ajmer in 1992 to look after his ailing mother.
A family dispute involving his distant paternal relatives took an unseemly turn and he was arrested under IPC Section 302, 307/37, 302/34 and 324/34. “Our inquiry reveals that he was falsely implicated.”
The trial took almost 20 years when he was finally convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in January of 2011. While he was out on bail for almost 18 years he never violated bail. He was always present whenever he was asked to report to the police or the courts.
The appeal stated that Dr Chishti is nearly 80 years old and has suffered serious health issues including heart problems and a hip fracture that rendered him unable to move on his own. He is now in the prison hospital and his family is concerned that he may not survive much longer in the jail in his condition and wishes to see him return home to spend the rest of his life.
On the day he was convicted, two people had to pick him up and carry him to the jail in Ajmer as he was unable to move on his own. The Indian activists have mentioned that India and Pakistan have been exchanging lists of prisoners held in each other’s jails and have been making good progress in their repatriation. “Last month, the Indian Supreme Court made an appeal to Pakistan for the release of Gopal Das, an Indian citizen who had been imprisoned in Pakistan for the last 27 years. Within a month, Pakistan responded by ordering his release and he is back in India.”
Kutty hoped Dr. Chishti would be released and join his family in Pakistan thanks to the joint efforts by civil society organisations of India and Pakistan. “We salute the efforts of Indian civil society for their efforts to release the Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails, especially their consistent efforts for release of Dr Chishti,” Kutty said.
