Pakistan frees 145 Indian fishermen

One hundred and forty-five Indian fishermen on Friday crossed the Wagah border into India after Pakistani authorities released them from jail.

The Indian fishermen were brought here on a train from Karachi this morning.

The Edhi Foundation provided them with cloths and Rs 5,000 each.

"We also served them lunch before they crossed the Wagah border into their homeland," Edhi Lahore spokesman Muhammad Younas told PTI.

He said it took a little long as the fishermen were handed over to the Indian authorities by the Pakistan Rangers after going through their papers.

"Some 11 months ago my boat's engine stopped and I was arrested (by Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency). I am happy to go back home," a fisherman who was sitting in a queue at Wagah border, said.

All 145 Indian fishermen were languishing in Malir jail in Sindh province of Pakistan.

Indian fishermen are usually arrested by the PMSA which is responsible for guarding and protecting Pakistan's territorial waters.

Both India and Pakistan routinely arrest each other's fishermen who cross over the unclear and disputed water border of Sir Creek which opens up in the Arabian Sea and divides the Pakistani province of Sindh from the state of Gujarat.

Once arrested, fishermen from India are first brought to the Docks police station and from there they are sent to the Malir jail.

Owing to lengthy and slow bureaucratic and legal procedures, the fishermen usually remain in jail for several months.

A number of non-governmental organisations in both India and Pakistan have raised the issue, pressing their governments to release arrested fishermen without much delay.