Islamabad, July 15: Pakistan has released 269 Indian fishermen who have been languishing in prisons in Karachi and arrangements were on to repatriate them.
The Indian fishermen are expected to leave for India next week after the repair of all boats, official media reports said here today. They said Pakistani authorities have permitted 50 jailed Indian fishermen out of the 269 to repair their 25 boats which were captured with them early this year. "They have completed repair of six boats," spokesman for the Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS) was quoted as saying by Pakistan's official news agency.

He said plans were afoot to release another 74 Indian fishermen along with their 18 boats very soon.
Pakistan and India periodically exchange captured fishermen as scores of them from both sides get caught while fishing in the narrow waters that separate the two countries.

Bureau Report