India

India, Pakistan exchange list of civilian prisoners, fishermen

India and Pakistan on Monday exchanged the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen in each other’s custody, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The lists were shared in keeping with the provisions of the bilateral Agreement on Consular Access 2008, under which the lists are exchanged every year on January 1 and July 1, an MEA statement read.

India has shared the lists of 366 civilian prisoners and 86 fishermen in India’s custody to Pakistan.

Similarly, Pakistan has shared “names of 43 civilian prisoners and 211 fishermen in its custody, who are Indian or are believed-to-be-Indian,” according to MEA.

“The Government of India has called for early release and repatriation of civilian prisoners, fishermen along with their boats, and missing Indian defence personnel from Pakistan’s custody. Pakistan has been asked to expedite the release and repatriation of 185 Indian fishermen and civilian prisoners, who have completed their sentence. In addition, Pakistan has been asked to provide immediate consular access to the 47 civilian prisoners and fishermen in Pakistan’s custody, who are believed-to-be-Indian and have not been provided consular access so far,” the MEA said in an official release.

“Pakistan has been requested to ensure the safety, security and welfare of all Indian and believed-to-be-Indian civilian prisoners and fishermen, pending their release and repatriation to India,” it added.

India remains committed to addressing, on priority, all humanitarian matters, including those about prisoners and fishermen in each other’s country.

“In this context, India has urged Pakistan to expedite the nationality verification process of 75 believed-to-be-Pakistani civilian prisoners and fishermen in India’s custody, whose repatriation is pending for want of nationality confirmation from Pakistan,” the MEA said.

As a result of sustained efforts by the Government, 2,639 Indian fishermen and 71 Indian civilian prisoners have been repatriated from Pakistan since 2014.

This includes 478 Indian fishermen and 13 Indian civilian prisoners who have been repatriated from Pakistan since 2023 till date.

ANI

Ani service

Recent Posts

US lawmakers urge AI Safety Institute to counter China’s growing AI threat

Chairman John Moolenaar and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi of the House Select Committee on the…

15 minutes ago

Tibetan delegation in Frankfurt seeks German backing against China’s repression

Representative Thinlay Chukki from the Tibet Bureau in Geneva spearheaded a delegation's trip to Frankfurt…

1 hour ago

PM Modi to launch development projects worth over Rs 70,000 crore across four states

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh on May…

2 hours ago

Trump claims Canada considering offer to become 51st state of US at no cost

US President Donald Trump claimed that he had offered Canada a choice between becoming the…

3 hours ago

Piyush Goyal urges exporters to create platform to boost visibility of Indian traders

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has urged exporters to create a facility that…

4 hours ago

Vikram Misri advocates for early convening of India-US Strategic Trade Dialogue

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler on Wednesday and discussed advancing India-US…

4 hours ago