Pakistan to free 291 Indian fishermen as goodwill gesture

NewsBharati    22-Dec-2017
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New Delhi, December 22: Pakistan will release 291 Indian fishermen on humanitarian grounds from next week. Pakistan had released 68 Indian fishermen in October.

Addressing the weekly press briefing at the Foreign Office, Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said Pakistan will repatriate 291 Indian fishermen in two phases on 29 December 2017 and 08 January 2018 via Wagah Border as a goodwill gesture on humanitarian grounds.

According to an official report released early in December, more than 500 Indians, mostly fishermen, are languishing in various jails in Pakistan.

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. This year in January, the Pakistan Government had released 219 Indian 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.

Pakistan prisoners goodwill gesture fishermen Visa Wagah Boarder goodwill gesture