Reciprocating Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee`s gesture to release all Pakistani civilian prisoners, President Pervez Musharraf has ordered the release of 25 Indian civilian prisoners, now lodged in various jails in the country. The President directed the interior ministry officials to put before him the cases of 25 Indian prisoners for remission of their jail sentences so that their release order could be issued immediately, official sources said.

The interior ministry officials are actively involved in preparing the list of the Indian prisoners, who have less than one year jail term to serve.

There are 171 Indians in Pakistani jails facing criminal charges in various cases and sentenced to imprisonment between one to seven years.
However, the Pakistan government has yet to take a decision on the remaining 146 prisoners. It is learnt that their cases may be decided in due course of time. The officials feel that an improvement in the bilateral relations would facilitate their release.
As a confidence building measure ahead of the Agra summit, Vajpayee had ordered the release of all 215 Pakistani civilian prisoners. Bureau Report