Indian fisherman's body to be sent back to Pakistan

The body of an Indian fisherman who died in a jail here last year will be be sent back on a Pakistan International Airlines flight tomorrow, an official said today.

Bhikha Lakha Shiyal, 35, died in Malir Jail of Karachi on December 19 allegedly due to natural causes. His body was kept at a mortuary here as technical formalities were to be completed by Pakistan and India.

"We have been notified that the Indian fisherman's body is being flown to Mumbai (on a PIA flight) on Saturday," said Nazir Chandio, an official of Malir Jail.

The Foreign Ministry has given clearance for the body to be flown out, he added.

"Shiyal's death left many of us sad as he had informed us his wife had also expired some time ago and he had two children," Chandio said.

The fisherman had a 15-year-old daughter and a three-year- old son.

Shiyal, who belonged to Garal village of Junagadh district in Gujarat, was arrested with his colleagues on October 25 last year when their boat entered Pakistani waters. He died due to an "acute asthma condition", Pakistani officials said.

Earlier, an Indian diplomatic source told PTI that the Second Secretary of the Consular section was in Karachi to speed up the process of repatriating the body. Once the body arrives in Mumbai, it will be taken to Shiyal's hometown, the source said.

If for some reason the body is not handed over tomorrow, it is likely to be sent on the next PIA flight on Monday, the source said. PIA is the only airline with direct flights between Indian and Pakistani cities.

Earlier this month, another Indian fisherman Kishore Bhagwan was found dead in mysterious circumstances in Karachi's Landhi Jail.