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70 Pakistani prisoners repatriated from Attari-Wagah checkpost
India repatriated 70 Pakistani nationals who completed jail terms, marking the first such move since Operation Sindoor began in May to combat terrorism.
For the first time since Operation Sindoor was launched to wipe out terror infrastructure in Pakistan in May, India on Tuesday repatriated 70 Pakistan nationals who had completed their jail terms in different states of the country through the Attari-Wagah joint check post in Amritsar district.
According to official sources, the Pakistani nationals, who had illegally crossed into India, were brought to the Attari-Wagah checkpost to be sent back to their country after they had completed their jail terms in Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana.
Most of them are fishermen, while 19 were from other backgrounds, the sources said.
Some of those being released on Tuesday were also serving terms in the Ludhiana and Amritsar jails.
Police said the released prisoners were presented before the immigration and customs officials at Attari-Wagah checkpost for verification formalities after which they would be handed over to the Pakistan Rangers.
The repatriation comes four months after India carried out targeted strikes on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22 that left 26 people, most of them tourists, dead. India took a series of steps, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, closing the integrated checkpost at Attari and barring Pakistani nationals to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas.
On September 14, 2024, India had repatriated 14 Pakistani prisoners.
