Karachi, 9 November: So far, 80 Indian fishermen lodged in Karachi jail of Pakistan were released by the government there on Thursday.
All these fishermen are residents of different places in Gujarat. A team of Gujarat government has reached Punjab to pick up these fishermen. The officers provided this information.
A senior prison official in Karachi said the Indian fishermen have been released by Allama Iqbal Express train amid 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 said most of the Indian fishermen are from poor backgrounds and are very happy to return home. Edhi Welfare Trust itself has made arrangements for Indian fishermen to reach Lahore.
They said that they are happy that they will meet their families soon. We have given them some cash and other gifts to take home. Pakistan and India regularly arrest each other’s fishermen for violating maritime boundaries.
Gujarat Fisheries Commissioner Nitin Sangwan in Ahmedabad said the fishermen would be handed over to the state fisheries department team at the Attari-Wagah border on Friday afternoon.
The Indian fishermen have been released as part of the Pakistani government’s ongoing drive to expel illegal foreign immigrants and nationals from the country.
Sangwan said, they are from different parts of Gujarat. We will bring them to the state by train.
Jeevan Jungi, member of the national executive of the non-governmental organization India Pakistan People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy, said that these 80 fishermen were caught by Pakistani authorities about three years ago, accusing them of fishing in their country’s territorial waters. They had departed from the Gujarat coast at regular intervals in 2020. As per our records, 173 Indian fishermen are lodged in Pakistani jails.
In May and June, the Government of Pakistan released approximately 400 Indian fishermen who were arrested under similar charges.
