India returns body of Pakistani who died in custody after crossing border

Sat, May 10 05:47 PM

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) _ India on Saturday returned the body of a Pakistani man who died in Indian custody after accidentally crossing their border, according to his family. Col.

Tariq Janjua, a spokesman for Pakistani border guards, said relatives of Mohammed Akram, 34, received his body at Wagha border crossing near Lahore. Later, Pakistani police sent the body to a hospital for an autopsy, Janjua said.

Akram's brother, Muhammad Aslam, said his brother was mentally ill and had gone missing Feb. 9 from Kasur, a Pakistani town near the border.

"Akram had mistakenly crossed the border," he said. Aslam said officials informed the family two weeks earlier that Akram had been in Indian custody and had died at a hospital.

The cause of death was unclear. The treatment of each other's nationals is a sensitive topic for the two South Asian rivals.

New Delhi is urging Islamabad to show clemency to an Indian due to be executed for alleged spying and terrorism. Pakistan and India, who have fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947, often arrest each other's citizens, including fisherman who stray into their territorial waters.

Some are held for years before being expelled, though a peace process begun in 2004 has reduced the number behind bars. In March, Pakistan pardoned a convicted Indian spy on humanitarian grounds after he had spent 35 years in prison.

Shortly afterward, India returned the body of an alleged Pakistani spy who died in custody. Relatives of the dead man claimed he had been mistreated and Pakistan demanded an explanation.

Pakistan is now considering a request from New Delhi for clemency for Sarabjit Singh, an Indian citizen who has been on death row for 18 years after being convicted of spying and involvement in bombings that killed 27 people in 1990. President Pervez Musharraf stayed his execution after it was fixed for April 1.

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