ISLAMABAD: Pakistan strongly condemned the extra-judicial killing of a Pakistani civil prisoner by Indian security forces in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and also urged the world community to hold India accountable for its gross and systematic violations of international humanitarian law.

Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said that Indian Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today and a strong protest was lodged on the extra-judicial killing of a Pakistani prisoner, Muhammad Ali Hussain, by Indian Occupation Forces in a fake encounter that took place in the Arnia, IIOJK.

He said that Muhammad Ali Hussain had been jailed in Kot Bhalwal Prison in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) since 2006. He said that the Indian diplomat was told that Hussain’s death under mysterious circumstances at a location away from the prison, has once again substantiated Pakistan’s long-standing position that Indian Occupation Forces in the IIOJK are routinely involved in undertaking choreographed attacks and extrajudicial killings of Pakistani and Kashmiri prisoners. He was also reminded of the case of Zia Mustafa, another Pakistani prisoner, who was murdered by Indian authorities in a similar fake encounter last year.

It was underscored that the narrative being spun that Muhammad Ali Hussain had allegedly attacked the security forces and attempted to escape when he was being taken to a suspected weapons’ smuggling site was not only fallacious but deceptive. The reality is that Hussain’s death was nothing but cold-blooded murder. Pakistan’s serious concerns over the safety, security and well-being of other Pakistani prisoners in Indian custody were also raised, he added.

While outrightly rejecting the implausible explanation proffered in the case of Muhammed Ali Hussain, he added that Pakistan has demanded that the Indian government must immediately share the details of this particular incident, including a credible post-mortem report to determine the cause of death and undertake a transparent investigation to bring to account whoever is responsible for the murder of the Pakistani prisoner.

The Government of India has also been called upon to ensure prompt and expeditious repatriation of the mortal remains of the deceased to Pakistan, as per the wishes of his family.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022