135 Pakistani fishermen detained in India

Foreign Office submits information before Supreme Court


Hasnaat Malik January 14, 2017

ISLAMABAD: At least 135 Pakistani fishermen are currently detained in Indian jails, the Foreign Office said its report to the Supreme Court.

The report was shared with the top court in compliance with an October 2016 decree, requesting the Foreign Office for a fresh report cataloguing the number of fishermen, who are languishing in Indian jails.

The top court is adjudicating a constitutional petition filed by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) and the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), through their counsel Advocate Raheel Kamran Sheikh regarding the repatriation of detained Pakistani fishermen.

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The petitioners contended that pollution was gradually lowering water levels and with the entry of bigger companies and foreign fishing vessels, fishermen had to venture into deeper water for a better catch.

The petitioner requested that steps should be taken to obtain information about the presence of Pakistani fishermen in Indian jails, details of charges against the prisoners, and court judgments on the sentences handed down to them.

The petitioners had made the federation through Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Secretary Ministry of Interior, the High Commission of Pakistan in India through High Commissioner and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency through its director general as respondents.

The Foreign Office in its one page reply stated that according to the information provided by the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, at present 135 fishermen are currently detained in India. A copy of the report is available with The Express Tribune.

“Out of these 135 fishermen, 98 are awaiting consular access, two prisoners are awaiting their repatriation to Pakistan and 35 are awaiting their national status to be confirmed.”

The FO also pointed out that in 2015, 121 fishermen were released from Indian jails and nine fishermen were released in 2016.

Giving details about the steps for the release of Pakistani fishermen in India, the Foreign Office said that whenever an arrest of a fisherman is brought to their notice, they immediately request the Ministry of External Affairs in India for consular access to collect information on the fishermen and establish their Pakistani citizenship. The antecedents collected are then sent to the interior ministry for confirmation.

Once the national status of a detained fisherman is confirmed, it said, the Pakistani High Commission makes a formal request to the government of India for his early repatriation. “When a prisoner is released, our mission completes documentation to ensure his early repatriation to Pakistan”, says the reply.

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Meanwhile, Raheel Kamran Sheikh, counsel for the petitioners, has expressed wonder over the Foreign Office’s reply. The counsel while talking to The Express Tribune claims that there is a difference between the interior ministry and Foreign Office data.

“The numbers of prisoners are understated. Prisoners released from Indian prisons have informed the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum that many people are still languishing in Indian prisons whose names are not available in the list compiled by the Pakistan High Commission in India.” Raheel also stated that the report does not specify the names of the prisoners, since when they have been detained and what legal assistance has been provided to them so far.

At the last date of hearing in October 2016, Deputy Attorney General Sajid Ilyas Bhatti told the court that there are different forums, resolving the issue of Pakistani fishermen detained in Indian jails and Indian fishermen detained in Pakistani jails.

The bench first seemed reluctant to take up the matter but the counsel argued that the fishermen were poor and the state could not give up its responsibility regarding the enforcement of their fundamental rights. He also referred to the government’s reply, two years back, where it had stated that no swift progress was being made regarding the release of fishermen owing to a deadlock in the composite dialogue between the two states. Upon this, the bench asked the FO to submit a report on the matter.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15th, 2017.

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