Indians find no trace of kin in Pakistani jail

KARACHI, June 4 (Reuters) A group of Indians searching in Pakistan for missing relatives -- servicemen who disappeared during a 1971 war -- found no traces today after combing dusty records and meeting inmates of a prison in Karachi.

The 14-member Indian delegation arrived Pakistan last week with permission to search for their loved ones in 10 jails in different parts of the country.

The Indians have a list of 54 missing servicemen they believe are in Pakistan.

Pakistan says it is holding no Indian prisoners of war but has allowed the Indians to visit on humanitarian grounds, so they can see for themselves and put their minds at rest.

The delegation visited a jail in the city of Lahore last week where they found no sign of any relative.

The result was the same today after hours of going through records and meeting inmates of Indian origin at Karachi's main prison.

''We've visited two jails and will see some more but we still have hope that we'll meet our missing loved ones,'' said Reshama Advani, who is searching for her husband, Flight-Lieutenant Ram Advani.

Another frustrated relative appealed to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to intervene.

''I'm tired of searching for my brother. It is very hard to find something from records of 36 years in a few hours,'' said Bharat Kumar Suri from New Delhi.

''President Musharraf should ask the Pakistani people that whoever knows anything about our loved ones inform the Indian High Commission,'' Suri told Reuters.

Suri's brother, Major Ashok Kumar Suri, went missing in the 1971 war, the third the neighbours fought following their independence from Britain in 1947.

Suri showed reporters a letter he said was from his brother, dated June 1975, in which he said he was in Karachi.

''THEY JUST WANT TO KNOW'' A Pakistani government spokeswoman said the Indians had been allowed to visit all the jails they wanted to.

''We have repeatedly said there are no Indian prisoners of war in Pakistan and we stick by that position,'' said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam. Pakistan says the problem of civilian prisoners in each other's jails is a much more pressing issue.

An official of the Indian High Commission said the families believed they had evidence Indian soldiers were in Pakistan.

''They just want to know what happened to them. If they are alive, they will take them back. If not, they can put the issue to rest,'' said the diplomat, Suresh Reddy, travelling with the delegation.

REUTERS AM VC2205