KARACHI, Nov 4: Pakistan freed 74 Indian fishermen on Tuesday as a goodwill gesture to India.

The fishermen were released at a ceremony held at the Maritime Security Agency’s ship MSS Nazim.

The ceremony was addressed by the consul officer of the Indian High Commission, Parmanda Sinha, and was attended by the assistant consul officer, R. B. Pandit, commanding officer of MSS Nazim, Commander Syed Sibte Hassan.

In his speech, Parmanda Sinha welcomed the decision of Pakistan to repatriate the interned fishermen.

“It will be a happy re-union for the families of the fishermen as well as for them.” He expressed good-luck for them and prayed for their safe passage back home.

Sinha said that their families had been waiting for them anxiously and expressed the hope for their early re-union.

The Indian government, he said, had proposed a mechanism whereby Indian authorities would not arrest Pakistani fishermen, while the Pakistani side had proposed that those arrested would be sent back within a month.

He said both these proposals are complementary to each other.

Parmanda Sinha remarked that the day marks the end of the fishermen’s ordeal and whatever had happened is the past.

“This is the beginning of a new era in relations between the two countries and for the fishermen,” he added.

He said there are 93 fishermen held by India and they would also be released on Tuesday. He expressed the hope that they would re-join their families by Wednesday.

He also wished an early Eid Mubarak for the Pakistani fishermen to be released, their families and all those attending the function.

The commander of the MSS Nazim said: “Today the government of Pakistan is implementing its commitment of sincerity and magnanimity and it is going to produce far-reaching results.”

“The decision about the release of the Indian fishermen is a reflective of the wholeheartedness of the government of Pakistan and a step towards efforts for maintenance of peaceful relations with India.”

He said: “Our religion, Islam also preaches peace.”

MSA units, he said, had no desire to arrest the Indian fishermen. The unit knows that the fishermen are poor people, who go out into the deep-sea for earning their livelihood.

However, he pointed out that there are geographical limits of each and every country and it was the duty of everyone to have respect for the same.

In future also, he told the Indian fishermen, to abide by the limits of boundaries of other countries and try not to enter our limits.

He said they are apprehended only when they enter 30-40 nautical miles into Pakistani waters.

The MSA commander said that the release of 279 fishermen earlier was under a unilateral decision taken by Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali and 74 more fishermen were being released on Tuesday.

He thanked the Fishermen Cooperative Society and other concerned departments for their efforts.

Earlier, talking to APP the Director Operation, MSA M. Zakir, said this was the third batch of Indian fishermen being repatriated this year.

He said that the FCS was carrying out a wonderful job in educating the fishermen.—APP