Pakistan : 22 Indian fishermen who crossed the Attari-Wagah border into their home country on Saturday after spending years in jail in Pakistan. Their release comes as a relief to their families who had been hoping for this day since they were arrested while fishing during 2021-22.
These fishermen, hailing mainly from Gujarat, Diu, and Uttar Pradesh, had inadvertently crossed over into Pakistani maritime territory due to ambiguously drawn sea boundaries. They received different sentences. Some served 36 months and others served 1 or 2 years. Arunpal Singh, a Protocol Officer at the border, confirmed their arrival saying, “They have been released and all are happy”.
We would also like to thank the Edhi Foundation, a non profit organisation in Pakistan, for paying for their travel, giving them cash, gifts and making sure before going back safe to Lahore. Faisal Edhi, the foundation’s chairman, called on both India and Pakistan to exercise greater compassion toward fishermen who inadvertently enter each other’s waters. “Their families are drag through the mud and they’re kept in prison for years. They ought to be let go and repatriated faster,” he said.
This problem is not new; almost every year, India and Pakistan arrest fishermen for trespassing into the other’s waters. Pakistan had 217 Indian fishermen in custody while India was holding 81 Pakistani fishermen, as of January 1.
The Indian government has passed a request to Pakistan for the prompt release of 183 Indian fishermen and civilians who have completed their sentence. Families of those still in prison are still hopeful they will return.
