Fishermen lodged in Pak jail to be freed on Wednesday

“They will be released at Wagha on June 28 and likely to reach their homes in Porbandar,Veraval,Mangrol,Diu by June 30,” Porbandar Boat Association secretary Manish Lodhari said. This is only second time in the recent past when a large number of prisoners are being released on a single day. Last year,Pakistan released 180 prisoners,including fishermen,on a single day.

Many of these fishermen have been languishing in Pakistani jails for couple of years now and completed their sentence. In most of the cases,even consular access was done long ago.

Indian trawlers that were apprehended by the Pakistani security agencies near International Maritime Border Line,however,continue to be in custody of Pakistani authorities.

At present,nearly 600 Indian fishing boats are in Pakistan’s custody. The first and the last Indian fishing delegation that had visited Pakistan in 2008,reportedly said most of these boats were in a severely damaged condition.