December 31, 2008	Wednesday	Muharram 02,1430

LAHORE, Dec 30: Indian authorities handed over 66 Pakistani prisoners, including 28 women and three children, to Rangers officials at Wagah on Tuesday.

The prisoners were at the border for documentation and security clearance by the immigration officials till the filing of this report at 10pm.

A majority of the prisoners, who belonged to Karachi, told reporters that they had gone to India on genuine visas, but during their return journey they were charged with visa tampering.

Some prisoners blamed their travel agents for visa irregularities and their ordeal in Indian jails.

A spokesman for the Edhi Foundation told Dawn that disabled and abandoned prisoners would be kept at their centres in the city.

He said a prisoner, Asif of Lahore, who was returning after 14 years of imprisonment, had deep scars on his body, suggesting that he might have been tortured by Indian authorities.

He said that 51 prisoners would be shifted to the Lahore railway station from the border for their departure to Karachi.

He said the prisoners were served with meal, juices, biscuits and fruits on their arrival.

AFP adds: Interior ministry official Ghulam Mohammad said that the prisoners would be allowed to return home after officials questioned them and registered their details.

He said that all prisoners had arrived except one teenaged boy who was in a Mumbai prison.

The official said that Pakistan had not been informed by India why the boy had not been released.