Ministry of Interior has allowed repatriation of 12 Indian prisoners, who were languishing in Sindh prisons for several years and Islamabad has informed Delhi about their release. However it could not be decided when they would be handed over to the Indian government.
The Punjab authorities have received 12 Indian prisoners from the Sindh government for their repatriation and they were kept in the Kot Lakhpat prison, jail sources said here on Saturday.
"We have received Indian nationals who were in the prisons of Sindh for several years and they would stay in Punjab till their repatriation to their homeland," a jail officer told on phone on the condition of anonymity.
These prisoners would go back to their country through Wagah border after completion of formalities and the Indian authorities would receive them, added the sources.
On Friday, the Punjab government received a no-objection certificate from the federal interior ministry to keep these prisoners in the Punjab jails until they are repatriated.
Earlier, the Sindh government had sent a list of prisoners to the Punjab government and asked it to keep them until they are repatriated. However, the Punjab authorities refused to take custody of these prisoners, saying all jails in the province were already overcrowded and, therefore, the Indian prisoners could not be accommodated.