India repatriates 31 Pakistani fishermen

ATTARI BORDER - Reciprocating Pakistan’s goodwill gesture, India on Saturday released 31 Pakistani fishermen including one child through Wagah land route.

The fishermen crossed over after the completion of formalities at the border, after the Border Security Force (BSF) handed over the Pakistani fishermen to their counterpart, Pakistani Rangers at zero line.

The Indian Coast Guards had arrested these fishermen after they strayed into Indian territorial waters while fishing. They were also imprisoned for period ranging from one to five years.

Earlier, on December 26, Pakistan had released 100 Indian fishermen who were languishing for more than three years in Pakistani jails.

Fishermen from the neighboring countries, who have a disagreement over their maritime border in the Arabian Sea, often intrude into each other’s waters, mostly unintentionally, and are arrested by the naval security authorities every year on charges of violating each other’s maritime boundary. The fishermen sometimes languish in prison for years. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)