20 Indian fishermen released as goodwill gesture

In a goodwill gesture, the Pakistani authorities on Sunday released 20 Indian fishermen from a Karachi prison.

The fishermen had been arrested for illegally fishing in the territorial waters of Pakistan. According to jail police officials, the Indian fishermen were incarcerated in the District Jail Malir from where they were transferred to Lahore via a bus so that they could be finally shifted to India through the Wagah border.

The Edhi Foundation bore the travel expenses of the fishermen from Karachi to Lahore. Officials said that there were currently 588 Indian fishermen jailed in Pakistan and 516 of them had been convicted. As many as 630 Pakistanis, including 620 fishermen, are also jailed in Indian prisons and awaiting repatriation.