Pakistan releases 20 Indian fishermen from Karachi jail

This is the second batch of fishermen to be released by Pakistan after an equal number of fishermen were repatriated in January this year.

As the 20 fishermen were released from District Prison and Correctional Facility in Malir, Karachi on Sunday morning, they were greeted by volunteers of Edhi Foundation, an NGO in Pakistan and were given gifts. The fishermen later boarded a bus of Edhi Foundation which took them to Lahore city on the Pakistan side of the Indo-Pakistan border. They will cross over to India via Attari border crossing at Wagah border near Amritsar in Punjab.

Of the 20 who have been released, 13 are native of Gir Somnath district of Gujarat, six from Devbhumi Dwarka and one from Jamnagar—both districts of Gujarat.

Among them 13 were apprehended by the Pakistan Marine Security Agency (PMSA) for allegedly violating Pakistani territorial waters while fishing on board three fishing trawlers at the Arabian Sea off Gujarat coast on September 10, 2018, officers of Gujarat fisheries department said.

The seven other fishermen were caught by PMSA for a similar offence on October 17, 2018, officers added.

“Apparently, these fishermen have completed their prison term for violating Pakistan’s territorial waters. While it is good that they are returning home, ideally they should have been released long ago,” Jatin Desai, the Mumbai-based peace activist and former secretary of the Indian chapter of Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Justice (PIPFDP) said. Desai said that the sentence for violating Pakistan’s maritime boundary is generally six months.

“Once a fisherman completes his prison term, both countries should ensure that the fishermen are released and repatriated immediately,” the activist, who has been demanding a no-arrest policy at sea in case of fishermen of both the countries, said.

“As of January 1 this year, there were 577 Indian fishermen in custody of Pakistan, a majority of them having already served their time in jail. With today’s release, Pakistan has repatriated a total 40 fishermen but it has arrested an equal number of Indian fishermen since January this year. Thus, the number of Indian fishermen in Pakistan custody continues to be around 600,” said Desai.