25 Pakistani nationals return home after release from Indian jails

At least 25 Pakistani nationals returned home after being released from Indian jails, the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi confirmed on Saturday.

In a X post, a spokesperson of the high commission said that the Pakistani nationals were repatriated via the Wagah-Attari border today.

Pakistani mission officials were present at the border to facilitate the process, read the statement.

“The government of Pakistan will continue to endeavour for release and repatriation of all Pakistani nationals in Indian jails,” read the statement.

Following their repatriation, the Fishermen’s Cooperative Society (FCS) felicitated the fishing community on the release of 25 fishermen from the Indian jails.

The FCS expressed hope that the released fishermen would soon return to their homes and families and resume their normal lives.

The society also thanked all relevant government institutions for their cooperation and efforts in securing the fishermen’s release.

The development came almost a month after Pakistan and India had exchanged lists of prisoners held in each other’s custody under the 2008 Consular Access Agreement.

According to the Foreign Office, Pakistan had handed over a list of 250 Indian prisoners in Pakistan, including 52 civilian prisoners and 198 fishermen, to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

Simultaneously, India had provided a list of 439 Pakistani or believed-to-be-Pakistani prisoners, including 386 civilian prisoners and 53 fishermen, who are in Indian jails.

Islamabad had also urged New Delhi to release and repatriate 97 Pakistani prisoners — 64 civilian prisoners and 33 fishermen — who had completed their sentences and whose nationality has been confirmed.