10 Pak fishermen released after completing jail term

Amritsar The Centre on Tuesday released ten Pakistani fishermen, who had been arrested in Gujarat for illegally crossing over to the Indian territory

Amritsar The Centre on Tuesday released ten Pakistani fishermen, who had been arrested in Gujarat for illegally crossing over to the Indian territory. These fishermen, all in their 20s, were handed over to Pakistani Rangers by Border Security Force (BSF) jawans at the Attari-Wagah border at around 2:30pm. Some of them were Ibrahim Ali, Rustam Ali, Ali Muhammad, Mazid, Ali Hussan, Ali Muhammad, Shaukat Ali and Ali Azhar.

The BSF handed the released prisoners to Pakistani Rangers on the Attari Wagah border; over 100 Pakistanis stranded in India due to the Covid pandemic were also allowed to cross over on Tuesday. (HT FILE PHOTO FOR REPRESENTATIVE PURPOSES ONLY)

Punjab Police’s protocol officer posted at the Attari Border, assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Arun Pal, said, “These fishermen were arrested for allegedly violating their territorial water 4-5 years ago. They have been repatriated after their sentences are completed.”

He said the fishermen were brought by the Gujarat police to the border on Monday night. “Their immigration procedure was completed about 10am and they were handed over to the Pakistani rangers in the afternoon,” he said.

India and Pakistan swap lists of prisoners in each other’s custody twice a year, on January 1 and July 1. Sources said, on July 1, the Indian government had shared a list of 345 Pakistani prisoners in India, including 271 civilians and 74 fishermen, with the High Commission for Pakistan in New Delhi.