LAHORE: Pakistani authorities handed over 172 Indian prisoners to the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) at Wagah Border on Monday.They included fishermen, who had entered the Pakistani territory in Arabian Sea mistakenly. Pakistan has released them as a goodwill gesture.
They were imprisoned at Malir Jail after their arrests from different areas of the sea. As they were found innocent, the authorities concerned decided to release them. They were escorted to Wagah Border in special buses of Edhi Foundation amid tight security and Punjab Rangers handed them over to the BSF.
Edhi Foundation made all the arrangements for their arrival at Wagah Border after their release from Malir jail. Begum Balqis Edhi gave Rs5,000 cash to every released prisoner and clothes as gifts for their families.
In a joint statement, Abdul Sattar Edhi, Balqis Edhi and Faisal Edhi said the release of 172 Indian prisoners was a positive step towards improving the relations between the two countries and they welcomed it. They appealed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release Pakistani fishermen who were languishing in Indian jails. They said fishermen whether Indian or Pakistani crossed the seawaters mistakenly only in search of livelihood. They were the sole breadwinners of their families and when arrested, their families had to starve to death.
They said both Pakistan and India had signed the UN charter and according to the charter, the countries cannot jail for more than three months to the fishermen who cross the sea limits while fishing.
They demanded the governments of both the countries to follow the charter and free such fishermen. Aisoor, 28, a freed prisoner said that he was arrested about a year back along with 30 other fishermen when they mistakenly entered the sea limits of Pakistan. He said that in Pakistani jails, he was treated well and good food was provided to him.
Shakivan, 55, was also arrested by Pakistani authorities. He expressed joy and
happiness on his release. On a question, he said both the countries should not treat the issue of fishermen like other issues, but should solve it amicably. Davias, 19, a resident of Kundar said he was arrested about two months back along with 30 more people and their five boats were also captured. They were forced to sail into the seas in search of livelihood for their families, he said. They had no mean to gauge the sea limits as there was no visibly demarcated boundary in seas, he said. He said they built their boats after a lot of hard work. Now, their boats were seized and it would be very difficult for them to restart their work. They were very poor and their families would have suffered much due to their arrest as they depended only on their earnings. All the freed prisoners were happy and they thanked Edhi Foundation and Pakistani authorities on their release.