A Pakistani national, who died in an Indian jail last month, was arrested when he was travelling with sensitive documents, Indian High Commission here said on Thursday. The explanation came a day after Islamabad asked New Delhi to clarify circumstances under which its citizen expired.
In a statement on Thursday, the Indian High Commission said that Khalid Mehmood, 30, wanted to deliver these documents to somebody, who planned to travel to Pakistan later by Samjhauta Express from the Indian capital. The statement, however, did not directly label Khalid as spy and kept undisclosed the identity of the bus traveller. Khalid went to India to watch a cricket match in 2005 but never returned.
His family back home has never heard of him since early this month when Indian authorities informed Pakistani diplomats in New Delhi of his death. The statement said that Khalid disappeared in India and was apprehended by the Faridabad Police on May 17, 2006, more than a year after his visa had expired. As per standard practice, a case was registered against Mehmood under various sections of the law.
He was produced before a court in Faridabad and had been an under-trial prisoner in a jail in Gurgaon since May 2006. The Indian High Commission expressed condolence to Khalid's family but questioned why nobody tried to find him out if he was not there for something mysterious.