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Pakistan orders search for Indian PoWs

The Government of Pakistan ordered "combing" of all prisons in the country to find any Indian prisoners of war languishing there soon after President Pervez Musharraf promised to look into the issue, media reports quoting official sources said on Tuesday.

"We have already checked twice with all the jails, but found no clue of any Indian PoW as claimed by the Indian authorities," an interior ministry official said.

"It is difficult for Pakistan to keep prisoners of war so long as it is bound by the Geneva Convention," he was quoted as saying by the daily, Dawn.

The Indian government has stated that there could be around 54 Indian PoWs still lodged in Pakistani custody.

Pakistan has denied this on several occasions, but the issue was raised again during General Musharraf's breakfast meeting with senior editors in Agra on Sunday.

In response, Musharraf promised to personally look into the matter. "I am a soldier. I would be the first man to release prisoners of war. But still this issue is being raised again... so I will certainly personally look into it," he said.

Prior to the general's arrival, relatives and families of the missing prisoners of war had staged rallies in front of the Pakistani high commission in New Delhi demanding their release.

PTI

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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