LAHORE - Pakistan will free at least 18 Indian fishermen as a goodwill gesture on Monday (tomorrow), an official told The Nation yesterday.
A spokesperson for the Edhi Foundation said some 18 Indian fishermen would arrive in Lahore from the port city by a business train on Monday morning.
“The Edhi Foundation has arranged food and travel facilities for the fishermen,” Muhammad Younis, a spokesperson for the charity, said. “These fishermen will be taken to Wagah border by a special bus from the Lahore Railway Station.”
The fishermen to be freed were captured for illegally entering Pakistani waters in the Arabian Sea. An official said India must reciprocate the Pakistani gesture and release the fishermen lodged in Indian jails for years.
Fishermen are frequently arrested and their boats are seized by both India and Pakistan’s maritime security. According to experts, this happens because it is not possible to draw boundaries in the sea. Moreover, many fishing boats lack the technology needed to be sure of their precise location. Both the neighbouring countries use the release of fishermen to express goodwill from time to time. Fishermen often end up in jails because fulfilling legal formalities takes a long time due to poor diplomatic ties between the two arch-rivals.