Asia-Pacific

12 Indian fishermen released in Pakistan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-12-13 15:32

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Monday released 12 Indians from a prison in the southern port city of Karachi, jail authorities said.

Eleven fishermen and an Indian national, who had mistakenly crossed the border, were freed from Malir Jail in Karachi. They will be handed over to the Indian authorities on Tuesday.

The fishermen will travel to Lahore in a bus with a police escort.

They will be formally handed over to Indian officials at Wagah, the official border between the two countries.

Both countries arrest fishermen for illegally entering each other's waters. Pakistan and India have not yet reached any agreement to determine water boundaries.

Pakistan and India have freed hundreds of prisoners this year as a goodwill gesture, after prisoners' societies and rights group campaigned for their release.

Members of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, which also seeks legal remedy for fishermen, greeted the prisoners as they came out of the jail. They also presented gifts to the freed prisoners.