Pakistan, India exchange civil prisoners’ lists

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India Wednesday exchanged the lists of civil prisoners in their respective custody under the bilateral Consular Access Agreement signed in 2008.Pakistan shared a list of 324 Indian prisoners in Pakistan including 270 fishermen and 54 civil prisoners with the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.The Indian government also simultaneously shared a list of 362 Pakistani prisoners in India including 265 civil prisoners and 97 fishermen with the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi.

The Consular Access Agreement calls for both the countries exchanging lists of prisoners in each other’s custody twice a year, on January 1, and July 1, respectively. The government of Pakistan has been calling for early release and repatriation of 15 civil prisoners and 47 fishermen to Pakistan who have completed their sentences.