Islamabad, Nov 17 (IANS) Nine Indian minors, who were caught while fishing in Pakistani waters, are languishing in prison in the country’s port city of Karachi despite having completed their one-year sentence, says a rights organisation.
The nine boys are currently at the Youthful Offenders Industrial School Karachi, The News International reported.

The children, who belong to various coastal areas of India, were caught by the coast guards.

Abdullah Khoso, juvenile justice provincial manager of the Society for the Protection of Right of the Child (SPARC), said he has written to the chief justice of the Sindh High Court (SHC), requesting him to take measures against the “extrajudicial confinement of juvenile Indian fishermen who have completed their sentence”.

The nine boys - Bhano, Wasal, Karoo, Aroon, Depiash, Jaish, Haresh, Vinod and Chetan - were sentenced to an year’s imprisonment, which they completed in September.

The high court took notice and turned the letter into a petition. A notice regarding the matter was served to the Advocate General Sindh, Khoso told The News.

Khoso said that during his recent visit, he met Jaish who requested him to write a letter to the higher authorities and plead their case.

He said it was a humanitarian issue and should be dealt with as such.

Khoso said fishermen from India and Pakistan usually become victims as there is no clear demarcation of the waters.