First time since border flare-up, India & Pakistan share list of prisoners

New Delhi: India and Pakistan on Tuesday exchanged the lists of fishermen and civilian prisoners hailing from each other’s nations and lodged in each other’s prisons, in accordance with the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access, which appeared to have survived the recent cross-border flare-up between the two South Asian neighbours.

New Delhi has shared with Islamabad through diplomatic channels a list of 81 Pakistani or believed-to-be Pakistani fishermen and 382 other civilian prisoners, currently lodged in the prisons of India. Islamabad too has shared with New Delhi a list of 193 Indian or believed-to-be-Indian fishermen civilian prisoners and 53 other civilian prisoners lodged in the jails in Pakistan.

The 2008 agreement mandates the sharing of the list between India and Pakistan of each other’s nations lodged in each other’s prisons on January 1 and July 1 every year. Though the April 22 killing of 26 people, mostly tourists, at Baisaran near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir by the terrorists owing allegiance to the anti-India Lashkar-e-Tayyiba based in Pakistan resulted in a cross-border military flare-up from May 7 to 10, the two sides stuck to the agreement and shared the lists on Tuesday.

The Government of India has called for the 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 159 Indian fishermen and civilian prisoners, who have completed their sentence, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. In addition, Pakistan has been asked to provide immediate consular access to the 26 civilian prisoners and fishermen in Pakistan's custody, who are believed-to-be-Indians and have not been provided consular access so far. 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 MEA added in New Delhi.

“India remains committed to addressing, as a priority, all humanitarian matters, including those pertaining to prisoners and fishermen in each other's countries,” a spokesperson of the MEA said, adding: “India has urged Pakistan to expedite the nationality verification process of 80 believed-to-be-Pakistani civilian prisoners and fishermen in India’s custody, whose repatriation is pending for want of nationality confirmation from Pakistan.”

As a result of sustained efforts by the government, 2,661 Indian fishermen and 71 Indian civilian prisoners have been repatriated from Pakistan since 2014. This includes 500 Indian fishermen and 13 Indian civilian prisoners who have been repatriated from Pakistan since 2023 till date, the MEA said.