India is to release 59 Pakistan nationals held for illegal fishing, as a goodwill gesture, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. A statement said the Pakistani fishermen would be sent back by the Thar Express on Saturday from Munabao in Rajasthan.
Indian coastguard rounded up these men while fishing in the Indian waters between September 2005 and February 2006, the statement said.
It added that 505 of its own fishermen were in prisons in Pakistan and had been held between September 2005 and March 2006. "The government of India is continuing its efforts to secure the release of Indian fishermen and their boats," the statement added.