Pak court directs agencies to free two ‘juvenile’ Indian fishermen
By ANIThursday, April 22, 2010
KARACHI - A Karachi Judicial Magistrate has directed the concerned authorities to release the two young Indian fishermen, who were arrested for violating Pakistan’s water limits in December last year.
The local court has directed the Sindh Home Department to send back both the fishermen to their home country, as they have already completed their four months sentence in the juvenile prison, The Daily Times reports.
It may be noted that a Pakistani non-government organisation (NGO) had moved a petition in the Sindh High Court (SHC) for the release of the Indian fishermen.
On April 13, SHC Chief Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany had ordered to close the cases against the boys within two weeks and report to the court on April 22.
India and Pakistan frequently arrest each other’s fishermen over violation of the maritime boundary, and hundreds of them are swapped regularly.
According to statistics, over 100 Pakistani fishermen are languishing in Indian jails while over 600 Indian fishermen are in Pakistani prisons.
Some believe that it is the rare and expensive fish like ‘Lal Pari’, which lures Indian fishermen to sail near Pakistani waters.
The fish is found near Sir Creek, at the mouth of the Indus River.
The “Lal Pari” offers handsome profit to the fishermen and a large quantity of these species are exported to European countries. (ANI)
