Goodwill Gesture: India releases 19 Pakistani prisoners

LAHORE: India on Tuesday released 19 Pakistani prisoners from different jails, with the Indian Border Security Force handing them over to Pakistan Rangers at the Wagah border. According to Rangers sources, 18 out of the 19 prisoners were fishermen. The other prisoner was an 80- year-old civilian. A child was also among the fishermen detained in an Indian jail for the past six months. The 80-year-old man, Syed Taqi Shah, was arrested by Indian authorities for allegedly using fake currency, while the fishermen were arrested for straying into Indian waters in the Arabian Sea. The prisoners were handed over to Pakistani security agencies for interrogation, after which they will be allowed to go home, the sources added. Talking to the media at the Wagah border, the prisoners said that Pakistanis were not being treated according to the international laws in Indian jails.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2012.