Indian convinced missing brother died in Pakistan

Islamabad, June 13: An Indian searching for his soldier brother who went missing during a 1971 war with Pakistan said on Tuesday he had at last found evidence of his brother's death in battle.

Ajit Singh is with a group of Indians searching in Pakistan for missing relatives servicemen who disappeared during the 1971 war who they believe are alive in Pakistani prisons.

None of the relatives have found any trace of a living relative and Singh said he was now convinced of his younger brother's death in battle.

''My trip has been successful because at least the doubt in our minds has been cleared. I now know he was killed in the fighting,'' Singh, a 68-year-old from India's Haryana province, told a news conference.

The 14-member Indian delegation arrived Pakistan this month 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. Some say they have evidence, including names in newspaper reports and letters, that their relatives were alive after the war.

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 Indians have visited eight jails in the east and the south, sifting through dusty prison records and talking to Indian prisoners, but finding no trace of their relatives.

Singh said a former Pakistani soldier, a retired major who is now a member of parliament, had given him an account of his brother's death.

''Besides giving a description of his face, he talked about some family letters and their contents that made me to believe he was telling truth,'' Singh said of the major's account.

''He said he fought bravely and he was buried with a lot of respect,'' he said.

Another member of the delegation, G.S. Gill, said they had asked to visit a military detention centre but that visit had yet to materialise.

''There is possibility they could be in a military detention centre,'' Gill said.

Pakistan says the Indians had been allowed to visit all the jails they wanted to. Pakistan says the problem of civilian prisoners in each other's jails is a much more pressing issue.

The Indians will visit two jails in North West Frontier province before going home on Thursday.

Reuters>