Lahore: Seventy Pakistani prisoners,
including 52 fishermen, freed from Indian jails were handed
over to the Pakistan Rangers at the Wagah land border Tuesday.
Two women and as many children were among the
prisoners repatriated by India as a gesture of goodwill ahead
of the New Year, a Pakistan Rangers official said.
The families of some prisoners and representatives of
the Fishermen Cooperative Society were at Wagah to receive
them.
"We have been told that six more Pakistanis will
arrive here after they clear the immigration process," the
Pakistan Rangers official said.
Most of the fishermen freed today belong to southern
Sindh province and the Fishermen Cooperative Society will make
arrangements for their journey from Lahore to Karachi.
Leading rights activist Ansar Burney thanked the
Indian government for releasing the Pakistani prisoners as a
goodwill gesture and said such decisions will help in bringing
peace and tranquility to the region.
Many of these Pakistani prisoners were held in Indian
jails even though they had completed their prison terms a long
time ago, Burney said.
He added that his NGO, the Ansar Burney Trust, had
requested the Indian government on several occasions to
release these prisoners in the greater interest of justice,
human dignity and the peace process.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, December 28, 2010, 22:05