Kashmir Singh (born 1941) is a former Indian spy. He spent 35 years in Pakistani prisons, before he was released with Presidential pardon by

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...

Early life

In his early life, he was in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

approximately from 1962 to 1966. After working for the Punjab Police for a while, he took up spying on a contractual basis at the rate of

Rs. Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

400 per month. Thereafter, he entered

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in the guise of Ibrahim, a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

name. Using this name, he checked into hotels and got identity cards during his task.

Arrest

In 1973, he was arrested on the 22nd Milestone on the

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

road by Pakistani intelligence officers. Upon arrest, he was accused of espionage and smuggling but it could not be proved by the authorities. At the time of his arrest, his family included his wife, Paramjit Kaur, and three children under the age of 10. Subsequently in the same year, he was sentenced to death by a

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

court. This verdict was upheld by a civil court between 1976 and 1977 and a mercy petition followed this, but to no avail. After being sentenced to an indefinite jail term, he said that he "was tortured third degree for the first few months by the authorities" as they pressured him to confess of being an Indian spy. Singh was lodged in seven different jails in Pakistan and was "kept in solitary confinement and remained chained for 17 long years." For the total period of three and a half decades in captivity, he did not see the sky or have a single visitor. Singh's entire family but for Paramjit, his wife had lost hope for his return. In 1986, when the Pakistan government released a few Indian prisoners accused of spying from the

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

jail, the family knew that he was alive but on a death sentence.

Release

In 2008, the caretaker Human rights minister

Ansar Burney Ansar Burney ( ur, انصار برنی; born 14 August 1956) is a Pakistani human and civil rights activist and former caretaker Federal Minister for human rights in Pakistan cabinet from 2007 to 2008. He graduated with Masters in Law from K ...

spotted him while visiting the Lahore jail. Burney said that Singh became mentally disabled after his years in jail. He immediately put up his case with the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...

that sought Singh's release. He further added that he had "fought his case on humanitarian grounds as he inghhad spent 35 years in jail." On seeing this,

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...

expressed shock and disbelief and accepted this mercy petition and ordered for release and repatriation of Singh to India. On 4 March 2008, he was released by Pakistan and entered India through the Wagah border amidst celebrations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Kashmir Indian Army personnel Indian spies Living people 1941 births Prisoners and detainees of Pakistan Recipients of Pakistani presidential pardons Indian expatriates in Pakistan People convicted of espionage in Pakistan Research and Analysis Wing activities in Pakistan

Early life

Arrest

Release

See also

References