Pakistan has released 20 Indian fishermen from Malir district jail in Karachi after five years. They were arrested for allegedly fishing illegally in Pak waters. The group was released as a show of goodwill.
Jail superintendent Muhammad Irshad said the fishermen were handed over to the Edhi trust on the order of the federal government. The welfare foundation will be taking them to Lahore under police escort and then handed over to the Indian authorities via the Wagah border. Faisal Edhi, head of the Edhi trust, said all expenses of the Indian fishermen will be taken care of by them.
A prison official told WRAL.com that the group boarded a bus to Lahore carrying sweets and gifts handed out by a charity.
Gujarat State Director of Fisheries, Nitin Sangwan said the fishermen will arrive in India on June 20. They will be brought to Gujarat after that.
India and Pakistan have arrested fishermen for violating the maritime boundary several times. The boundary is poorly marked at many points. According to the figures shared by the Gujarati government in March 2022, around 500 fishermen from the state are in Pak jails. 358 of them were arrested in the last two years. Every year, both nations release some prisoners after negotiating their release.
Currently, 652 Indian fishermen and 51 civilians are in Pakistan's jails. On the other hand, 282 Pakistani civilians and 75 fishermen are in Indian jails. Many have blamed this ordeal to be due to lack of coordination between border authorities.
In 2018, New Delhi and Islamabad had agreed to revive a joint judicial committee to deal with the issue. India has nominated its four members, and Pakistan is yet to nominate its members.