India asked to share cricket fan’s death probe
By Asghar Ali Mubarak

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan on Thursday reacting to clarification issued by Indian High Commission regarding the death of Pakistani Khalid Mehmood in Indian jail once again asked the India to provide full report in the circumstances of his death and share the investigation. Foreign Office Spokesman Muhammad Sadiq while commenting on the statement said, “We have seen clarification issued through media by the Indian High Commission and the explanation given in the press release does not fully explain the circumstances for the death of Khalid Mehmood.”
The spokesman said, “We once again asked Indian authorities to provide full report in the circumstances of death of Khalid Mehmood and share the investigation conducted in this matter instead of shifting the blame for the wrong done.”
A Pakistani who went to India to watch a cricket match in 2005 but was later arrested and died in an Indian prison was found with “sensitive documents” and was not tortured, India said on Thursday. Pakistan said on Wednesday it had asked India to explain why the man, Khalid Mehmood, was arrested and died in “mysterious circumstances” in an Indian prison on Feb. 12.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have improved their relations after nearly going to war for a fourth time in 2002 but they are still deeply suspicious of each other. Mehmood’s body was sent back to Pakistan on Monday and one of his brothers told Reuters Mehmood has lost his passport while in India for the cricket match and was later arrested and accused of being a spy.
Indian authorities had not informed the family of how Mehmood had died but his body bore signs of torture, the brother said. India’s High Commission in Islamabad said in a statement Mehmood was arrested on May 17, 2006, more than a year after his four-day cricket visa had expired.
“Sensitive documents were recovered from Mr Mehmood’s possession, which he was carrying to Delhi to deliver to some persons who were travelling to Pakistan,” the High Commission said. It did not elaborate on the nature of the documents. Mehmood developed an abdominal complaint and had been transferred to a top hospital for treatment but died, the High Commission said.
“It is emphasised that no torture was inflicted upon Mr Mehmood while he was a pre-trial prisoner,” it said. Politicising the case and suppressing the facts would only increase the anguish for his bereaved family, the High Commission said. “Someone must explain why he disappeared and what the real purpose of his travel was,” it said.
A Pakistan spokesman said on Wednesday while Pakistan was seeking a thorough investigation, the case would not affect a peace process the neighbours launched in early 2004. As part of the peace process, both sides began sending cricket teams to each other’s country and thousands of fans have travelled back and fourth to watch the teams clash since then.