Thaindian News

Islamabad, Jan 7 (IANS) A total of 180 Indian prisoners, comprising 179 fishermen and a civilian, were released by Pakistan from a Karachi jail Saturday. They will be repatriated to India at the Wagah border Sunday.

Pakistan has freed 179 Indian fishermen and one civilian from Karachi’s Landhi jail as a goodwill gesture on the New Year, Xinhua reported citing Geo News.

The fishermen had inadvertently intruded Pakistani waters in recent months while one civilian had crossed over into Pakistan’s Sindh province.

All the freed prisoners boarded buses in Sindh province’s port city of Karachi to reach Lahore city of Punjab province before being handed over to Indian authorities at the Wagah border.

According to a member of the Pakistan-India joint judicial committee on prisoners Aslam Nasir Zahid, a total of 276 more Indian prisoners will be released in the coming weeks.

Stating that three prisoners are currently being tried in Pakistan, Justice (retd) Zahid called for a solution to the maritime boundary issue to avoid arrests of fishermen.

He said the Indian nationality of at least 83 prisoners has been proved and they could be freed on completion of their respective jail terms.

While other prisoners are freed when they complete their jail term, foreigners are released only after their respective embassies confirm their nationality and the process takes time, said Zahid.

He said the Pakistani and Indian Supreme Courts have ruled that keeping a prisoner even for one day after he completes his jail term will be illegal.

Former Pakistan minister Iqbal Haider, also a campaigner of prisoners’ rights, appealed to the Pakistani and Indian governments to release all the foreign prisoners aged above 60 and expedite their respective trials.

Prisoners do not receive legal help until their identities and nationalities are confirmed, he added.

“(A total of) 440 Pakistani fishermen are currently in Indian custody out of which the nationalities of 285 prisoners have been determined, whereas 164 prisoners are inaccessible to any assistance because their nationalities have not been established as yet,” Haider added.