As many as 89 Indian fishermen, imprisoned for violating Pakistan’s territorial waters, were released by local authorities here on Thursday as the two countries resume a fledgling peace process.
The release comes two weeks after Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh watched a cricket World Cup match.
“Today, we released 89 Indian fishermen from the Malir prison as a goodwill gesture,” prison chief Ghulam Qadir Thebo said. These fishermen had been caught over the past 13-19 months, he said.
Two buses set off for Lahore, where they will cross the Pakistan-India border at Wagha on Friday, he added. Pakistan and India frequently seize each other’s fishermen, accusing them of violating their respective zones in the Arabian Sea.
According to the foreign ministry, India handed over a list of prisoners during the talks between the home secretaries in New Delhi last month. “The Indian side handed over 39 Pakistani prisoners on April 11 from the list that Pakistan had given to India,” it said in a statement.
Pakistan last week released a jailed Indian who had been held for 23 years. The move was seen as another confidence-building measure as India and Pakistan look to get their stalled peace process back on track.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 15th, 2011.
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