Islamabad: A court has ordered the repatriation of 142 Indian fishermen detained in Pakistani waters on charges of illegally fishing in the country's exclusive economic zone.
The court of the Judicial Magistrate (West) in the southern port city of Karachi on Thursday disposed of 12 cases against the Indian fishermen and sent an order for their
repatriation to the Home Department of Sindh province.
The fishermen were arrested by the Maritime Security Agency over the past few months for violating Pakistan’s maritime border and booked under the Foreigners Act.
Sources were quoted by a newspaper as saying that the provincial Home Department would approach the federal Interior Ministry to contact the Indian government for
identifying the fishermen.
Following this process, the Pakistan government will hand over the fishermen whose identities are verified by Indian authorities.
Pakistani authorities recently released 442 Indian fishermen who were being held in prisons in Karachi even after
The authorities acted after two NGOs filed a case in Pakistan's Supreme Court seeking the release of the fishermen.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, October 23, 2010, 15:41