Pakistan releases 80 Indian fishermen; Will return home to Gujarat on Friday
Pakistan and India regularly arrest each other’s fishermen for violating the maritime border, which is poorly marked at some points.
Karachi/Ahmedabad: Eight Indian fishermen were released by the Pakistani government on Thursday. For almost three years, they were captured by Pakistani authorities after being accused of venturing into the country’s waters while fishing.
The Indian fishermen, who were lodged in Malir Prison in Karachi, Pakistan, were released by Islamabad amid the country’s continued drive to drive out illegal foreign immigrants and nationals from the country.
The fishermen, who belong to different parts of Gujarat, will be taken to their home state tomorrow and a Gujarat government team has reached Punjab to receive them at the Attari-Wagah border.
They will be handed over to the state fisheries department team at the Attari-Wagah border on Friday afternoon, Gujarat Fisheries Commissioner Nitin Sangwan had said earlier.
“They belong to different parts of Gujarat. We will take them to the state by train,” Sangwan said.
“These 80 fishermen were arrested by Pakistani authorities almost three years ago after accusing them of fishing in that country’s waters. They had taken off from the Gujarat coast at regular intervals in 2020. According to our data, there are 173 Indian fishermen languishing in Pakistani jails,” said Jivan Jungi, member of the national executive committee of the India-Pakistan People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy, an NGO. .
In May and June, the Pakistani government had released nearly 400 Indian fishermen arrested on similar charges.
Earlier, a senior prison official from Karachi’s Malir Jail said the Indian fishermen have been put on the Allama Iqbal Express train under heavy security and will reach Lahore tomorrow, from where they will be handed over to Indian authorities at the Wagah border.
Faisal Edhi of the Edhi Welfare Trust, which made arrangements for the Indian fishermen to travel to Lahore, said the Indian fishermen, who largely came from poor backgrounds, were overjoyed to finally return home.
“They are happy that they will soon join their family. We gave them cash and other gifts to take home,” he said.
Pakistan and India regularly arrest each other’s fishermen for violating the maritime border, which is poorly marked at some points.
(With PTI inputs)