KARACHI -  In a goodwill gesture, Pakistan on Sunday freed 147 more Indian fishermen from Karachi’s Malir Jail.

The released 147 Indian fishermen were arrested by security forces some eight months ago for fishing illegally in the territorial waters of Pakistan. They were later imprisoned in Karachi’s District Jail, Malir.

They were boarded on Lahore-bound Allama Iqbal Express from Karachi Cantonment Railway Station from where they will be handed over to Indian forces at the Wagah Border. The travel expenses of the fishermen were borne by the Edhi Foundation. They were also provided with the gifts and cash by the foundation.

According to District Jail Malir Superintendent Hassan Sehto, this was the second batch of the Indian fishermen which was released as earlier, on December 28, Pakistan had released the first batch of 145 Indian fishermen, who were held on similar charges.

In December, the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal had announced release of 292 Indian fishermen imprisoned in Pakistan in a goodwill gesture in two phases. As many as 262 Indian fishermen remain imprisoned in Malir jail so far.

Fishermen from Pakistan and India are frequently detained for illegally fishing in each other’s territorial waters since the Arabian Sea does not have a clearly-defined marine border and the wooden boats lack the technology to avoid being drifting away. A number of non-governmental organisations in both India and Pakistan have raised the issue, pressing their governments to release arrested fishermen without much delay.

KASHMIR ISSUE NEEDS RESOLUTION: CHIDAMBARAM

APP adds: Former Indian finance minister P Chidambaram took a dig at ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for failing to restore normalcy in Occupied Kashmir.

P Chidambaram in a series of tweets on Sunday said militaristic and muscular policy had failed to achieve anything in Kashmir.

He said there was an issue concerning Jammu and Kashmir and there were frequent reminders to indicate it, the KMS reported.

Chidambaram said, “If you are one of those who had thought that the hard, muscular, militaristic approach of the government should be given a chance, please look at the table once again. You may change your view.”

He wrote, “From time to time, we are rudely reminded that there is an issue concerning the Jammu and Kashmir. The last reminder came on the night of December 30, 31, 2017, when Mujahideen attacked the CRPF Training Centre at Lethpora in Pulwama district killing five CRPF personnel and injuring three”.

Terming recent appointment of interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma to the Valley as a ploy to garner votes for BJP ahead of Gujarat elections, he said, “On the eve of the election in Gujarat, the government appointed Dineshwar Sharma as Special Representative (SR), but his mandate was not clear.

Subsequently, it was indicated that the SR will talk to anyone who was willing to meet him, and therein lies the catch,” he tweeted.

Asking India to shun its aggressive approach on Kashmir, he wrote, “Wisdom lies in actively working to find a political solution to the issue of Jammu and Kashmir."