Pakistan urges Iran to release British sailors

AFP: A senior Pakistani lawmaker has called on Iran to free 15 British sailors and marines as a “humanitarian gesture,” saying they should not be blamed for the policies of their government. ISLAMABAD, April 1, 2007 (AFP) – A senior Pakistani lawmaker has called on Iran to free 15 British sailors and marines as a “humanitarian gesture,” saying they should not be blamed for the policies of their government.

Mushahid Hussain Sayed, a key ruling party figure and head of the Pakistani parliament’s foreign relations committee, said the 14 men and one woman should not be punished for the “mistakes and wrong policies of their government.”

His comments to Iran’s ambassador, Mashallah Shakiri, were released by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League in a statement.

Sayed urged Iran to seek the “moral high ground and defuse tension in the region by this humanitarian gesture.”

Captured in the Gulf on March 23, the navy personnel are being held in a secret location and occasionally shown on television allegedly confessing to and apologizing for their transgressions.

Britain insists that they were on a routine anti-smuggling patrol in Iraqi waters under a UN mandate when they were taken, but Iran says they were in its territorial waters.