India-PAK shared the list of each other's citizens lodged in jails, government demanded release of so many prisoners
MEA: India has shared the list of names of 366 civilian prisoners and 86 fishermen of Pakistan. Similarly, Pakistan has also shared the list of names of 43 civilian prisoners and 211 fishermen detained in India.
India and Pakistan exchanged the list of names of civilian prisoners and fishermen in their possession. The Ministry of External Affairs came out with a statement that since 2014, Pakistan has returned 2,639 Indian fishermen and 71 civilian prisoners to India. The Ministry of External Affairs said that India has made repeated efforts to ensure the return of civilian prisoners and fishermen to their homeland.
In an official statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said, "Under a bilateral agreement in the year 2008, such lists are exchanged between the two countries on January 1 and July 1 every year." Today, India and Pakistan exchanged the list of civilian prisoners and fishermen detained by both countries. India shares this list containing names of 366 civilian prisoners and 86 fishermen in Pakistan. Similarly, Pakistan has also shared the list of names of 43 civilian prisoners of India and 211 fishermen detained.
The statement also said that the Indian Foreign Ministry had asked for the earliest possible release of all civilian prisoners and fishermen of India along with their boats. Apart from this, there were also demands for the release of missing military personnel of India whom Pakistan detains. According to the official statement of the Ministry of External Affairs, Pakistan has also spoken about the principle of early release for those 185 Indian fishermen and civilian prisoners who have completed their sentences. Other than this, India has asked Pakistan to provide -diplomatic access to 47 Indian civilian prisoners and detained fishermen.
It has also been asked to Pakistan to ensure the safety of all the Indian citizens through serving various sentences there. This way, India has asked Pakistan to initiate the procedure for verification of the nationality of Pakistani civilian prisoners and fishermen who are lodged in various Indian jails. After all these are identified they will be sent to Pakistan. The Ministry of External Affairs said that from the year 2023 till date, 478 Indian fishermen and 13 civilian prisoners have been sent to India from Pakistan.
