Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, June 19: Pakistan released 20 Indian fishermen who had been imprisoned in Pakistan for the past five years for allegedly fishing illegally in the country’s waters in a goodwill gesture on Sunday.
The twenty fisherman were arrested and taken to the Malir district jail in Karachi’s Landhi neighbourhood. On their route to the Wagah border, they were sent to Lahore, where they will be turned over to Indian authorities.
The fisherman was released under the direction of the federal government, according to jail superintendent Muhammad Irshad.
“They were in jail for the last five years. Today, they were handed over to the Edhi trust which will be responsible for taking them to Lahore under police escort,” he said.
The fishermen were apprehended by the Maritime Security Force in June 2018 and imprisoned for fishing illegally in Pakistani territorial seas, according to Irshad.
The welfare organisation, according to Faisal Edhi, is responsible for all of the Indian fishermen’s expenses including travel. Rival fisherman from Pakistan and India are routinely apprehended for crossing the maritime boundary, which is poorly demarcated at times.
