3 weeks ago
Families, Forums Urge India, Pakistan to Free 198 Fishermen
Fishermen from India sail out into the sea to catch fish, but sometimes they end up on the wrong side of an invisible ocean line that divides India and Pakistan.
When that happens, they can be arrested and kept in jail in Pakistan.
Right now, 198 Indian fishermen are locked up there.
Most of them—178—have already finished their jail time, and India has confirmed who they are.
Their families and fishermen's groups are asking the leaders of both countries to let these men come home.
In 2008, India and Pakistan agreed that fishermen should be released within one month after finishing their sentences.
Sadly, that promise has not been kept for many fishermen.
Some families have not seen their loved ones for years, and one grandmother said her granddaughter has never seen her father's face.
The families hope the fishermen can return home before Independence Day.
A total of 198 Indian fishermen are imprisoned in Pakistan after allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) while fishing, of whom 178 have completed their sentences and had their nationality verified.
Families and fishermen's organisations (NFF, PIPFPD and Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum) appealed in a joint letter dated August 8 to India and Pakistan to release and repatriate them, preferably by August 15.
The groups cited Section 5 of the 2008 India-Pakistan Agreement on Consular Access, which requires release within one month of nationality confirmation and completion of sentences.
Of the imprisoned fishermen, 144 are from Gujarat; Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi assured activists he would raise the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and activists sought an increase in the Rs 300 daily allowance to at least Rs 500.
Groups urged the reactivation of the India-Pakistan Judicial Committee on Prisoners (last met in 2013) and a 'No Arrest Policy' for unintentional boundary crossings, noting that 53 Pakistani fishermen are in Indian jails.
- Who
- Families of imprisoned fishermen along with the National Fishworkers Forum (NFF), Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) and Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF), appealing to the prime ministers of India and Pakistan.
- What
- An appeal for the immediate release and repatriation of Indian fishermen imprisoned in Pakistan, particularly the 178 who have completed their sentences and had their nationality verified.
- Where
- Press conference in Ahmedabad, Gujarat; the fishermen are imprisoned in Pakistani jails.
- When
- Ahead of India's Independence Day on August 15 and Pakistan's on August 14; joint appeal letter dated August 8.
- Why
- As a goodwill and humanitarian gesture, and because Section 5 of the 2008 India-Pakistan Agreement on Consular Access requires release within one month of nationality confirmation and completion of sentences.
Key facts
- Indian fishermen in Pakistani jails
- 198
- Completed sentences with verified nationality
- 178
- Pakistani fishermen in Indian jails
- 53
- Fishermen from Gujarat
- 144 of 198
- Family allowance from Gujarat government
- Rs 300 per day (activists seek at least Rs 500)
- Estimated deaths in Pakistani custody
- 4-5 Indian fishermen per year
- Last Judicial Committee on Prisoners meeting
- 2013
- Governing provision
- Section 5, India-Pakistan Agreement on Consular Access, 2008
Quotes
Jiviben Solanki
Resident of Diu and mother of an imprisoned fisherman
“Both the governments agree to release and repatriate persons within one month of confirmation of their national status and completion of sentences.”
deccanchronicle.com
“My granddaughter has never seen the face of her father.”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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