78 Indian fishermen freed by Pakistan

Pakistan released 78 Indian fishermen held for trespassing into its territorial waters yesterday, 9 July.

Naseem Siddiqui, an official of the provincial home department of Sindh, told local sources that the fishermen were released from Karachi’s Landhi jail.

It is expected that the fishermen will cross over into India today, 10 July.

Siddiqui added that 298 Indian fishermen are still imprisoned and will be released on completion of the verification of their nationalities by India.

Fishermen from both India and Pakistan are frequently detained for illegal fishing since the Arabian Sea border is not clearly defined and many boats lack the technology to fix their precise location.

Poor diplomatic ties between the two nations means fulfilling bureaucratic requirements can take a long time and so the fishermen often languish in jail, even after serving their terms.