Kin claim evidence of PoWs in Pak

New Delhi: Damyanti Tambay has failed to trace her husband in Pakistan so far, but claims she has collected some evidence during her visit to Pakistani jails, which has reinforced her belief that Ft Lt VV Tambay was still languishing in that country.

Tambay was among the 14 relatives of Indian soldiers, who never came home after the war. The last time Damyanti saw her husband was in December 1971 just a year after she got married to Fl Lt Tambay. Since then, she has traveled several extra miles in the last three-and-a-half decades to trace her husband.

On Sunday, the relatives of missing Indian PoWs said in Islamabad that they have collected evidence during their visit to Pakistani jails and they now want Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to order an investigation to help locate them.

"We want President Musharraf to order an investigation to look into the strands of evidence we collected before and during our visit," Damayanthi Tambay, now 59, appealed.

Damayanthi claimed she had received several communications about her husband's whereabouts in Pakistani prison. She says she now wants an investigation involving the Red Cross, the two governments and the relatives to go into the evidence.

The relatives of the POWs crossed over to Pakistan earlier this month and they landed in Islamabad on Saturday evening for a three-day halt after visiting prisons in Lahore, Karachi, Sukkar, Sahiwal Multan and Faisalabad.

During the next three days, they are scheduled to visit prisons around Islamabad, including the Rawalpindi prison, to check jail records and interact with jail officials and prisoners.

The relatives consisting of men and women say they are now awaiting a response to their request for a meeting with Gen Musharraf so that they can "convince" him with the evidence they have that the oft-repeated assertion of Pakistani officials that there are no POWs here was wrong.

"If they think that we will give up our quest to locate our beloved after this visit, the governments of Pakistan and India are mistaken. If anything, our resolve has only been strengthened by our visit here," PTI quoted BK Suri, president of Missing Defence Personnel Relatives Association, as saying.