ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India exchanged lists of prisoners in each other’s custody through diplomatic channel in each other’s capitals, with Islamabad urging New Delhi for immediate release and repatriation of all Pakistani prisoners who have completed their sentence.

The lists were exchanged simultaneously in Islamabad and New Delhi, in pursuance of the Consular Access Agreement of 2008 on the 1st of January and 1st of July every year.

In a statement, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Pakistan handed over a list of 254 Indian or believed-to-be-Indian civilian prisoners and fishermen in Pakistani jails. India shared a list of 452 Pakistani or believed-to-be-Pakistani civilian prisoners and fishermen in Indian jails.

She said that a list of 38 missing Pakistani defence personnel, believed to be in India’s custody since the wars of 1965 and 1971, was also handed over by Pakistan. “The government of Pakistan has called for immediate release and repatriation of all Pakistani prisoners who have completed their sentence in India,” she said.

She added that a request for special consular access to various believed-to-be-Pakistani prisoners, including the physically- and mentally-challenged prisoners, has been made and for expeditious confirmation of their national status. She said that the government of Pakistan has also urged India to ensure safety, security, and well-being of all Pakistani or believed-to-be-Pakistani prisoners, awaiting their release and repatriation.

“The government of Pakistan is committed to addressing humanitarian matters as a priority. It will continue its endeavours to ensure [an] early return of all Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails,” she said. As part of these efforts, she added that the repatriation of 62 Pakistani prisoners in 2023, and four in the current year, has so far been secured.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024