NEW DELHI, June 29: India and Pakistan would exchange hundreds of prisoners as part of measures aimed at boosting trust between the old neighbours, Indian officials said on Thursday. India would free 38 Pakistani civilian prisoners at the Wagah border crossing on Friday under an agreement between the neighbours to release each other’s nationals who have served their sentences, an Indian Home Ministry statement said.
New Delhi had also decided to give consular access to all eligible Pakistani civilian prisoners and fishermen lodged in various jails to allow their repatriation after completion of their sentences and confirmation of their nationality.
Pakistan was expected to release 240 Indian fishermen and 21 Indian civilian prisoners, also on Friday, an Indian Foreign Ministry official said.
Another 30 Pakistani fishermen and more than 300 Indians remain in each other’s jails but their nationalities must be confirmed before they could be released, he said.
The two countries have exchanged hundreds of prisoners since launching new peace moves in 2003 after coming close to another war over their longrunning dispute over Kashmir.
While the fishermen are arrested for straying into each other’s territorial waters, most other civilian prisoners are picked up for illegally crossing the border, overstaying or on charges of spying or smuggling.—Reuters
