LAHORE, April 17 (APP)- Ansar Burney Trust, a human and civil rights organisation has released a list of 19 Pakistani nationals lodged in Indian jails who have fallen mentally ill in prisons. According to the press release received here on Thursday, the prisoners, including women, are lodged in mental wards of various prisons in India. Their details were collected by Chairman of the Ansar Burney Trust, Ansar Burney, during his recent visit to India.

Ansar Burney said his organisation was working for the release of these 19 prisoners from the Indian jails.

The Press release said Burney Trust is also working to locate and secure the release of hundreds of other Pakistani nationals lodged in Indian jails.

All the 19 prisoners, including two women are suffering from mental illness.

Their names are as follows:

Momin Khan s/o Mohammad Aziz patient of epilepsy; Goonga Bola s/o Not Known mental retardation; Mohammad Sadiq s/o Mohammad Abbas schizophrenia; Nadim Sarwar s/o Akras schizophrenia;

Murid Faqir s/o Ghulam Mohammad mental retardation; Kabal Shah s/o Habib Shah schizophrenia; Khan Badhshah s/o Jamal Khan schizophrenia;

Moosa Kasim s/o Hammed Khan schizophrenia; Juber s/o Kamal schizophrenia ; Mohammad Johar s/o Mohammad Sharil epilepsy; (unamed) person called Goonga suffering mental retardation; Tooti Shah s/o Noor Mohammad mental retardation; Ali Mohammad s/o Noor Mohammad stress related rage; Mohammad Sharif s/o Gul Agha forgetfulness, episodes of aggression; Mansoor Ahmed s/o Ramjit stress; Munir Ahmed s/o Gulam Ahmed- schizophrenia; Haroon Rashid s/o Sikander Shah mental retardation; Ruby d/o Abdul Malik acute psychotic episode; Shukla Ghosh d/o Kiran Mohan Ghosh.

Ansar Burney Trust has appealled to all those who recognise these persons or know of their families to contact the organisation as soon as possible. The Trust can be reached at: Ansar Burney Trust, Arambagh Road, Karachi. Phone: (021) 2623382/83 Fax: (021) 2623384 Email: contact@ansarburney.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Ansar Burney, who recently returned from a two-week visit to India also announced that the Trust would soon be releasing the names of over 150 Pakistani nationals lodged in Indian jails, who the Indian authorities had agreed to release if the Ansar Burney Trust through Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs can confirm their nationalities.

The Trust will also release pictures of many of these prisoners, taken inside the Indian prisons, in an effort to trace their families in Pakistan, confirm their nationalities and secure their release and repatriation.

“This would possibly be the most comprehensive list of Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails ever published.If we can find their families and confirm their nationalities, then we would finally be able to bring them home,” Burney said.

Most of these prisoners were arrested and sentenced for minor offences such as overstaying or visiting more locations than their visas permitted. Some had completed their sentences many years ago but were not released.

Few were fishermen who had sailed into Indian waters accidentally.

The details of these prisoners were gathered by the Trust and their release was guaranteed by the Indian government after the high-profile visit of Mr. Burney to India, where he met with Union Home Minister Shiv Raj Patil, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Shiv Shankar Menon, Former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda, Chairman National Human Rights Commission Chief Justice S.Rajendra Babu and other high profile personalities including many community leaders and opinion makers in India.

Ansar Burney is also a member of the Advisory Committee of United Nations Human Rights Council Geneva.

He said that for any of these prisoners or patients to be released and repatriated to Pakistan,their nationality had to be confirmed and for that reason it was important, their family members to contact the Ansar Burney Trust as soon as possible.

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