Pakistan Carries Out Prisoner Exchange Smoothly With India

Last updated on January 6th, 2021 at 07:04 am

Pakistan Carries Out Prisoner: Under the framework of a 2008 agreement, Pakistan and India exchanged prisoners on the first day of the month of a new year. For India, this meant receiving more than 300 people who had been repatriated but were still stuck in Pakistan.

These also include Indian civil prisoners, Indian nationals and fishermen. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has requested that Islamabad to ensure the safety, security and welfare of all the Indian prisoners.  In an official statement, MEA has stated that from their end, they are releasing 263 Pakistani civilian prisoners and 77 fishermen in India’s custody to the neighbouring country.  Similarly, Pakistan has also shared lists of 49 civilian prisoners and 270 fishermen in its custody. It is now being ascertained that not all of those being passed over to India are Indians. 

Those being released from Pakistan will need to be given immediate access to the Indian consulate. 

In 2008, India and Pakistan had agreed on jointly combatting terrorism by signing an agreement to provide consular access to prisoners in each country. As a part of the agreement, both countries have to share a list of prisoners twice in the year, which has been carried off smoothly despite the recurring tension between the nations. The agreement was made by India in order to maintain the humanitarian aspect of prisoner handling, keeping Islamabad nearby.

India has received 319 Indian prisoners in Pakistan, including 49 civilians and 270 fishermen prisoners.