54 defence personnel are believed to be in Pakistan custody: Government

54 missing defence personnel of 1965 and 1971 wars are believed to be in the custody of Pakistan but it does not acknowledge their presence in its custody, Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

"Fiftyfour defence personnel of 1965 and 1971 wars including one from the BSF are believed to be in Pakistan. However, Pakistan does not acknowledge the presence of any such personnel in its custody. Government has been repeatedly taking up the matter with the Pakistan government," Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said.

In a written reply with the list of the names of the missing 54 personnel, he said in June 2007, a delegation of 14 relatives of missing defence personnel had visited 10 jails in Pakistan but could not conclusively confirm the physical presence of any missing defence personnel.

To another question, he said the government has accepted an order of the Gujarat High Court regarding payment of service and retirement benefits to the next of the kin of the missing defence personnel believed to be in Pakistan custody. The High Court had in December 2011 passed an order in this respect, he said.