292 Indians, believed-to-be Indian prisoners and fishermen in Pak custody: Govt

There are 292 Indians and believed-to-be Indian civilian prisoners and fishermen in Pakistan's custody, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said that according to the list shared on July 1 2019, Pakistan acknowledged the custody of 52 civilian prisoners and 209 fishermen who are believed-to-be Indians.

In addition, there is the issue of 83 missing Indian defence personnel, including Prisoners of Wars, whose custody has not been acknowledged by Pakistan, so far, he said.

"As per the available information, there are 292 Indians and believed-to-be Indian civilian prisoners and fishermen in Pakistan's custody," Muraleedharan said.

The government attaches high importance to the issue of prisoners held in Pakistan custody and consistently takes up the matter of their early release and repatriation to India, he said.

"As a result of our persistent efforts, the government has been successful in securing the release and repatriation of 2,112 Indians, including fishermen, from Pakistan's custody since 2014," Muraleesharan said.

Responding to another question, he said that as part of its active engagement with partner countries under development cooperation, the government has committed to execute a number of projects in partner countries during the last five years.

"There are also a number High Impact Community Development Projects which are undertaken by government in different countries under grant. Government is also undertaking large number of projects in other countries apart from neighbourhood worth Rs 7,345.60 crore in the last five years," he said.