Over 350 Pakistanis languishing in Indian jails, SC told

Ministry reveals Pakistan-India Judicial Committee on Prisoners has not met since October 2013

ISLAMABAD: Some 357 Pakistanis are languishing in Indian jails while 471 Indians are detained in Pakistani prisons.

This was revealed in a report submitted on Saturday in the Supreme Court, whose three-judge – headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar – will take up tomorrow (Monday) a joint petition, filed by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) and the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) against the detention of Pakistani fishermen in India.

In its report, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also revealed that due to escalation between both the countries and unilateral suspension of the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue by India,   the Pakistan-India Judicial Committee on Prisoners has not met since October 2013.

The ministry told the apex court that as per information provided by Indian High Commissioner and the most recent list of prisoners exchanged between Pakistan and India on July 1, there are 249 Pakistani civilian prisoners and 108 fishermen in Indian jails.

“As per the information shared with us by the Ministry of Interior, there are 53 Indian civilians and 418 fishermen (total 471) confined in Pakistani jails,” said the report.

According to the report, since 2016 India has released total 114 Pakistani prisoners, 83 of which were civilians and 31 fishermen. It released nine civilians in 2016, 63 in 2017 and 11 in 2018. Thirty-one Pakistani fishermen were released in 2017.



Pakistan has released only 10 Indian civilians in last three years. However, 941 Indian fishermen have been freed from Pakistani jails since 2016.

Some 410 Indian fishermen were released in 2016 and 516 were freed in 2017. Pakistani authorities have released only 13 Indian prisoners so far in the ongoing year (2018).

Regarding steps taken for the release of Pakistani fishermen, the report said whenever news of an arrest is brought to the foreign office, the ministry immediately requests India’s ministry of external affairs for consular access so as to collect information on the fishermen and establish his Pakistani citizenship.

The antecedents, so collected, are sent to the Ministry of Interior for confirmation of national status.

Once the national status of the detained fishermen is confirmed, the ministry makes a formal request to the government of India for their early repatriation. “When a prisoner is released, our mission completes documentation to ensure his early repatriation to Pakistan,” said the report.

It said the Pakistan-India Judicial Committee on prisoners, established in January 2007, comprises retired judges from each side. The committee’s mandate includes visits to prisoners in each other's jails to recommend steps for prisoners’ humane treatment and expeditious release.



An Indian Supreme Court bench – comprising Justice Markandey Katju and Justice R M Lodha – on March 8, 2010 urged the Pakistani authorities to release Indian fishermen.

The SC led by former CJP Tassaduq Hussain Jillani while hearing a similar case on April 11, 2014 also urged India to release on humanitarian grounds Pakistani fishermen languishing in Indian jails.

After the change of regime in Pakistan, legal experts expect that peace process between two states may be resumed and the matter regarding the release of prisoners will be taken up.

Earlier, the petitioners drew the court’s attention to the imprisonment of Pakistani fishermen in Indian jails for allegedly breaching the international maritime border and entering Indian waters.

“[We] crave the gracious indulgence of this august court for redress against the blatant negligence and inaction on the part of the respondents to seek the release and repatriation of the Pakistani citizens languishing in Indian jails since as far back as 1993,” the petition said.

It contended that pollution was gradually lowering the water levels while with the entry of big companies and foreign fishing vessels into common waters, the traditional fisherfolk had to venture out into deeper waters for a better catch.

“However, due to limitations in navigational technology and difficulty in discerning the maritime border, fisherfolk often accidentally venture out into Indian waters and are arrested and detained by Indian Coast Guards,” it added.