IIOJK: Pakistani prisoner dies in Jammu jail under mysterious circumstances
Jammu: A Pakistani prisoner has died under mysterious circumstances in Kot Bhalwal Jail, located in the Jammu region of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Shahid Imran, a resident of Sargodha, Punjab, was arrested by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) in 2024 after inadvertently crossing the border in the Makwal sector of Jammu.
Following his arrest, he was subjected to absurd allegations of links to the Kashmiri freedom struggle, and several fabricated cases were registered against him.
Like other illegally detained Kashmiris, Shahid was deprived of all basic amenities, including medical care and legal facilities, while in prison.
Detainees are often not even produced before the courts, a tactic used to prolong their detention.
Indian authorities claimed that Shahid Imran was found unconscious in his cell. Resorting to their habitual lies and baseless propaganda, they claimed that he had committed suicide.
Human rights organizations state that such deaths result from severe mental and physical torture, medical negligence, and inhumane conditions during custody. They asserted that accusing an individual who inadvertently crossed the border of terrorism or militancy and imprisoning him constitutes a grave violation of international laws and norms.
It is worth noting that Zia Mustafa, a resident of Rawalakot, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, also died during interrogation in Kot Bhalwal Jail, Jammu, in October 2021.
Another Pakistani citizen, Muhammad Ali Hussain, passed away in the same jail in August 2022.
Additionally, a Pakistani citizen named Sanaullah Ranjay died in Kot Bhalwal Jail, Jammu, in May 2013 due to severe torture by authorities of the prison.
According to data from India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), eight custodial deaths occurred in the prisons of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir between April 2021 and March 2025.
Human rights organizations have consistently raised concerns that overcrowding, specifically in Kot Bhalwal and Kupwara district jails—a lack of medical facilities, and custodial torture are the causes of these deaths.
