India asks Pakistan to expedite release of citizens languishing in jails there

New Delhi: India on Monday asked Pakistan to expedite the release of its citizens languishing in the jails of the neighbouring country, some even after serving out the prison terms awarded to them.

New Delhi asked Islamabad to expedite the release and repatriation of 184 Indian fishermen, who have completed serving their sentences in Pakistan. It also asked for immediate consular access to 12 civilian prisoners in the custody of Pakistan as they were believed to be Indian.

“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,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated in New Delhi.

India and Pakistan on Monday exchanged the lists of each other’s nationals incarcerated in each other’s jails. The list was exchanged in accordance with the 2008 bilateral Agreement on Consular Access. The agreement requires exchange of such lists by the two governments twice every year – January 1 and July 1.

Islamabad shared with New Delhi a list of 184 fishermen and 47 others in its custody, who are Indians or are believed to be Indians. New Delhi provided Islamabad a list of 81 fishermen and 337 other citizens of Pakistan, currently lodged in jails in India.

New Delhi has called for early release and repatriation of civilian prisoners, missing Indian defence personnel, and fishermen along with their boats, from Pakistan's custody.

“India remains committed to addressing, on priority, all humanitarian matters, including those pertaining to prisoners and fishermen in each other's country,” a spokesperson of the MEA stated. “In this context, India has also urged Pakistan to expedite necessary action at its end to confirm the nationality status of 65 believed-to-be Pakistani prisoners, including fishermen, whose repatriation is pending for want of nationality confirmation from Pakistan.”

The MEA stated that as a result of sustained efforts by the government, 2,639 Indian fishermen and 67 Indian civilian prisoners had been repatriated from Pakistan since 2014. They included 478 Indian fishermen and nine Indian civilian prisoners who were repatriated from Pakistan in 2023.

India and Pakistan on Monday also exchanged, through diplomatic channels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad, the list of nuclear installations and facilities, covered under the bilateral Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities.

The agreement, which was signed on December 31, 1988 and entered into force on January 27, 1991, provided that India and Pakistan would inform each other of the nuclear installations and facilities to be covered under the deal on January 1 of every calendar year. The exchange of the lists on Monday was the 33nd consecutive exchange of such lists between the two countries, the first one having taken place on January 1, 1992.