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This is an archive article published on May 24, 2008
Pak frees 99 Indian prisoners
Pakistan on Friday freed 96 Indian fishermen and three other prisoners from a jail here as a goodwill gesture close on the heels of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee8217;s visit to this country.
Pakistan on Friday freed 96 Indian fishermen and three other prisoners from a jail here as a goodwill gesture close on the heels of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee8217;s visit to this country. The three prisoners had been held in Pakistan for at least 20 years, past their terms.
The move came two days after India and Pakistan signed an agreement on granting consular access to each other8217;s citizens held in jails of the two countries. The Indian fishermen and other prisoners will be taken from Karachi to Lahore before being handed over to Indian authorities at the Wagah border on Saturday, officials said.
Indian authorities had earlier confirmed the nationality of the fishermen and other prisoners.
Shortly after Mukherjee arrived in Pakistan on May 20 for a meeting with his counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi to review the composite dialogue process, Pakistan8217;s Interior Ministry had announced that the 96 Indian fishermen and three other prisoners would be released as a goodwill gesture.
The fishermen were arrested after they strayed into Pakistan8217;s territorial waters. Hundreds of fishermen from both countries are arrested every year by India8217;s Coast Guard and Pakistan8217;s Maritime Security Agency for accidentally drifting into each other8217;s territorial waters.
India and Pakistan have initiated steps for the speedy release of fishermen as part of confidence-building measures between the two sides.
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