|
Pakistan releases 533 Indian fishermen,
prisoners
Pakistan
Times
Staff Report
KARACHI: Pakistan on Sunday
released
529 Indian fishermen held since last year for illegally fishing in its
territorial waters of Arabian Sea, a senior government official said.
“We are releasing 529 fishermen and four other Indian prisoners today after
we received orders from President General Pervez Musharraf,” Ghulam Mohammad
Mohtaram, head of southern Sindh province’s home department said.
The four Indian citizens were detained for illegal entry, he said, adding
the release was a “goodwill gesture” to neighbouring India.
The fishermen would leave Karachi for Lahore by train later Sunday from
where they would be handed over to Indian authorities at the Wagah land
border crossing on Monday, Mohtaram said.
Pakistani authorities are holding 800 Indian fishermen, while some 108
Pakistani fishermen are behind bars in India on similar charges.
Recap
In January Pakistan released 266 Indian fishermen who spent over a year in
jail in Pakistan after straying into its territorial waters, Mohtaram said.
Pakistani authorities have decided that in future Indian fishermen arrested
for violating its territorial limits would be released swiftly on
“humanitarian grounds” but their boats would be impounded.
At present Pakistan’s maritime security agency has seized 159 Indian boats.
“We’ll not release their boats to discourage them to fish in our waters,”
Mohtaram said.
Earlier this month President Musharraf recommended that 800 Indian fishermen
should be freed after completing necessary legal formalities. Musharraf is
due to visit India on April-17 to meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and watch a cricket match.
The South Asian neighbours have been engaged talks since January last year
aimed at resolving eight bilateral disputes including the thorny problem of
Kashmir which is divided between the neighbours.
The second round of the official-level talks concluded last month with a
visit by Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh to Islamabad where it was
decided to launch a inter-Kashmir bus service between the divided zones of
the troubled state from April-7.●
|
