Pakistan frees 68 Indian fishermen as goodwill gesture

Islamabad, October 30: Pakistan has released a total of 68 Indian fishermen, who were held prisoners in the country for allegedly violating its territorial waters, on Sunday as a goodwill gesture.

“The fishermen were released from Karachi’s Malir jail,” Afaq Rizvi, a senior official from the Pakistan prison, said. He said 380 Indian fishermen remained behind bars in the country.

In July Pakistan released 78 Indian fishermen held for trespassing into its territorial waters.

Also, in March, India had releases 39 Pakistani prisoners languishing in jails as a goodwill gesture. The prisoners include 14 Pakistanis who have served out their sentences in India and 25 fishermen.

Indian and Pakistani fishermen are frequently detained for illegal fishing since the Arabian Sea border is not clearly defined and many boats lack the technology to fix their precise location.

Ties between India and Pakistan have remained strained since an attack on an Indian army base in the disputed region of Kashmir last year, which New Delhi blamed on Jaish-e-Mohamed.