Pakistan authorities have released 145 Indian fishermen who were arrested this year for entering the country’s waters.
Javed Khan from the prison department of Sindh government told DPA that the fishermen were released from the southern city of Karachi.
They are due to be taken to Lahore under tight security before being delivered to Indian authorities at the Wagah border crossing today.
Pakistan decided to release and repatriate 291 Indian fishermen in two phases – on December 29 and January 8 – via the Wagah border “as a goodwill gesture on humanitarian grounds”, according to an announcement on December 21 by Pakistan’s Foreign Office.
Pakistan released 68 Indian fishermen in October.
Pakistan and India have arrested fishermen from the other country when they stray across unmarked international boundaries in the Arabian Sea.
Some detainees have languished in jail for months or years when political ties became more strained between the regional rivals.
Some of the 145 Indian fishermen who were released from prison are seen on their arrival at a railway station in Karachi.
