India and Pakistan on Tuesday exchanged the list of civil prisoners and fishermen in each other’s custody through diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Islamabad. Under the provisions of the bilateral agreement on Consular Access 2008, such lists are exchanged every year on 1 January and July.
The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that Pakistan has been requested that
“India has shared the names of 382 civilian prisoners and 81 fishermen in its custody, who are Pakistani or believed to be Pakistani.
The Government of India has currently called for “initial release and repatriation” of civil prisoners and fishermen in Pakistani custody, especially those who have already completed jail sentence.
“Pakistan has been asked to accelerate the release and repatriation of 159 Indian fishermen and civil prisoners, who have completed their sentence,” the MEA said.
In addition, Pakistan has been asked to provide immediate consular access to 26 civilian prisoners and fishermen in Pakistan’s custody.
“The Government of India has called for initial release and repatriation to the Indian defense personnel along with the civil prisoners, fishermen as well as their boats and Pakistan’s custody. Pakistan has been asked to speed up the release and repatriation of 159 Indian fishermen and civil prisoners, who have fulfilled their sentence. The statement has not yet been read.
India has also requested Pakistan to confirm the nationality of 80-to-Pakistani prisoners and fishermen, currently in India’s custody, as their repatriation was pending due to lack of nationality verification from Pakistani authorities.
“India is committed to addressing all humanitarian matters, on priority, including prisoners and fishermen in each other’s country. In this context, India has urged Pakistan to accelerate the nationality verification process of 80-Pakistani citizen prisoners and fishermen have been included in India’s custody.
Mea’s statement further highlighted that continuous diplomatic efforts have resulted in repatriation of 2,661 Indian fishermen and 71 civilian prisoners since 2014, with 500 fishermen and 13 civilian prisoners to re -order since 2023. (Ani)
