ISLAMABAD - The Indian High Commission on Thursday moved a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for the release of its four spies convicted by the military courts on charges of espionage and terrorism in Pakistan.
The commission filed the petition through Barrister Malik Shah Nawaz Noon and cited Federation of Pakistan through Secretary Interior and Secretary Foreign Affairs as respondents.
The petition requested the court to release the Indian prisoners including Birchu, Bang Kumar, Satish Bhag and Sonu Singh as they have served their sentence.
The petition stated that the condemned prisoners were arrested by Pakistani military authorities and were charged under section 59 of the Pakistan Army Act, 1954 and provisions of Official Secret Act, 1923.
It added, “It is the case of petitioners that they have not committed any offence and the entire proceedings initiated from the arrest till culmination in the ultimate conviction are an abuse of process of law but for the purpose of instant writ petition it would be a futile exercise to indulge into the legality of conviction and sentence as by now the condemned prisoners have already exhausted their respective period of sentences awarded by the FGCM.”
It added that the insertion of Article 10(A) in the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan by way of 18th Amendment has brought the Pakistani constitution to magnanimous heights of individual’s rights and liberties.
The petitioner’s counsel contended, “The detention of condemned prisoners for the time being at the hands of respondents is nothing but illegal, unjustified and against the law and dictums of superior courts of the country.”
Therefore, the counsel prayed to the court that it may direct the respondents to arrange the release of the ex-condemned prisoners from the concerned jails and repatriate them to India in the interest of justice, fair play and equity as the said prisoners have already completed their imprisonment awarded to them and there is no lawful reason to keep them behind the bars.
