Indo-pak dilemma: 128 fishermen have done jail time

KARACHI: Activists and the families of the fishermen detained in India have demanded the Pakistani authorities and their Indian counterparts release the men who have completed their sentences. “[About] 128 Indian fishermen in Pakistan’s jails have completed their sentences, but they are still waiting for the decision of the two governments,” said Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid at a press conference on Thursday. He is a member of the India-Pakistan Judicial Committee on Prisoners. Fishermen are imprisoned for six months under the Foreigner Act of 1974, but the process of confirming their nationality, which takes more than a year, is started after they have served their sentences. Zahid said that this process should be started when the fishermen are arrested, so that they do not have to suffer later.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2011.