3 Pakistani fishermen released from Indian captivity reach home

KARACHI: Three Pakistani fishermen released from Indian captivity have reached Karachi, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

According to details, the fishermen reached Lahore via Wagah border crossing on June 28. They were put in quarantine before being allowed to return home in the port city.

Two of the freed fishermen, identified as Watto Mohammad and Mohammad Juman, spent three years in captivity in India while the third Mohammad Hassan had been languishing in Indian prison for the fast five years.

The Fishermen Cooperative Societies gave fishermen a cash handout of Rs20,000 each.

On July 1, the Indian government shared a list of 345 Pakistani prisoners in India including 271 civilians and 74 fishermen with the High Commission for Pakistan in New Delhi.

The Government of Pakistan also simultaneously shared with the Indian High Commission in Islamabad a list of 609 Indian prisoners in Pakistan, including 51 civilians and 558 fishermen.

“This step is consistent with the clause (i) of the Agreement on Consular Access between Pakistan and India, signed on 21st May 2008, under which both countries are required to exchange lists of prisoners in each other’s custody twice a year, on 1st January and 1st July, respectively,” Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafiz Chaudhri had said.