22 Indian fishermen released from Pak jail reach Gujarat

Ahmedabad: Twenty two Indian fishermen released from Pakistan's Karachi jail reached Gir Somnath in Gujarat on Tuesday and expressed happiness on being able to return to their country.

They also urged the government to expedite the release of several other Indian fishermen still languishing in the neighbouring country's jails.

The 22 fishermen were apprehended by Pakistan's marines security agency between April 2021 and December 2022 while fishing near the maritime boundary in the Arabian sea off Gujarat. Nearly 195 fishermen were still languishing in Pakistani jails, Assistant Director Of Fisheries, Veraval, VK Gohel said.

Of the 22 fishermen who have been released, 18 are from Gujarat, three from Diu in the neighbouring Union Territory, and one from Uttar Pradesh.

The Gujarat government in a statement said Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel had requested the Centre for their release.

The fishermen reached Vadodara via train Monday evening after being handed over to Indian authorities at the Wagah Border a few days back, Gohel said.

From Vadodara, they reached Veraval in Gir Somnath district by a bus on Tuesday, Gohel said.

Upon reaching Vadodara, the fishermen expressed happiness over returning to their country.

They also expressed concern for the several fisherman still lodged in Pakistani jails, and urged the government to expedite the process of their release.

"They are suffering from diseases and facing problems regarding food. They are in great difficulty," one of the released fishermen claimed while talking to reporters in Vadodara.

Another fisherman recounted his plight, saying he was caught by the Pakistani marine security agency when he went fishing off the Gujarat coast three-and-a-half years ago.

"All 22 persons who have returned are sick, and there are still many more who are jailed there. We request the government to make all possible efforts to get them released quickly, because there are lot of problems in the jails there," he said.

Those who returned carried a letter from the Indian fishermen lodged in Pakistani jail, expressing their pain and a request to the government for a quick resolution to their plight.

"We are 150 fishermen here. Two years ago, the Supreme Court of Pakistan released us, but we are still imprisoned. Almost all the fishermen have become mentally ill due to the tension of not being able to get out of here," reads the letter.

"We have been sick, and facing breathing difficulties and skin diseases, yet only 22 fishermen have been released from here. Injustice is being done to the remaining 150 fishermen. There is no one here who understands our situation," the fishermen claimed in the letter.

Out of the 18 released fishermen belonging to Gujarat, 14 are from Gir Somnath, three from Devbhoomi Dwarka and one from Rajkot.

A reply from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in Lok Sabha on December 12, 2024 said a total of 2,639 Indian fishermen have been repatriated from Pakistan since 2014.

Out of the 209 fishermen — as of July 1, 2024 — under Pakistan’s custody, 51 fishermen have been in Pakistani jails since 2021; 130 fishermen since 2022; 9 fishermen since 2023; and 19 fishermen since 2024, the MEA said.