Pakistan on August 13 released 30 Indian prisoners, including 27 fishermen, from jail as a goodwill gesture ahead of the country’s Independence Day on August 14.Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said in a statement, The release of the prisoners “is in line with Pakistan’s consistent policy of not politicizing humanitarian issues.”
Spokesperson Faisal further said, “This is a humanitarian gesture to mark Pakistan’s Independence Day and it is our hope that the Indian side will also reciprocate in a similar manner.”
Ghulam Baksh, Senior jail superintendent at the Malir jail in Karachi, has said that they had released the fishermen yesterday and sent them via train to Lahore after getting orders from the interior ministry.
According to Indian Government report submitted before the country’s Supreme Court in July over 470 Indians, including 418 fishermen, are detained in Pakistani jails.
Pakistan and India frequently arrest fishermen for allegedly trespassing in the territorial waters as there is no clear demarcation of the maritime border in the Arabian Sea.
Numerous civil society organizations across the world have been urging New Delhi and Islamabad to enter into an agreement for defining and enforcing proper international maritime laws.
