ISLAMABAD: The federal government has told the Supreme Court that at least 135 Pakistani fishermen are currently detained by India.

In a report, the Foreign Office explained that according to information provided by Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi, 98 were still awaiting consular access, two were expecting repatriation to Pakistan and 35 were awaiting confirmation of their nationality.

The report was laid before a Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, which is hearing a petition moved by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) and the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler), highlighting the ordeal of Pakistani fishermen languishing in Indian prisons.

Both the PFF and Piler have been struggling to safeguard the rights and interests of fishing communities in Pakistan by lobbying for a ban on deep-sea trawling, use of destructive nets, release of detained fishermen in Indian and Pakistani jails and the abolition of the contract labour system.

In its report, the Foreign Office stated that 121 fishermen had been released from Indian jails in 2015, whereas the in 2016, only nine fishermen were released.

Talking to Dawn, Barrister Raheel Kamran Sheikh, who represents the petitioners, disputed the figures, stating that the number of prisoners was being understated. He contended that prisoners released from Indian prisons had told PFF the names of several persons languishing in Indian prisons who have not been in this list of 135 compiled by the Pakistan High Commission.

Secondly, the counsel regretted, the Foreign Office report does not specify for each prisoner the time of their detention and the status of the legal assistance provided to them so far.

He reiterated that those suffering were fishermen, the poorest of the poor, and maintained that the state could not abandon them because it had a duty to protect the life and liberty of these poor fishermen under Article 9 of the Constitution.

At the last hearing in Oct 4, 2016, the Foreign Office had explained that the suspension of composite dialogue between India and Pakistan was a major impediment in the release and repatriation of Pakistani fishermen who inadvertently strayed into Indian waters and ended up in prison.

In its fresh report, the Foreign Office has stated that whenever an arrest of a fisherman was brought to ministry’s notice, it immediately requested the Indian Ministry of External Affairs for consular access so they could collect information on the fisherman and establish his Pakistani citizenship.

The antecedents thus collected are sent to the interior ministry for confirmation of nationality, the report explained, adding that once the national status of the detained fisherman was confirmed, the Pakistani government could make a formal request to the government of India for his early repatriation.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2017