LAHORE: Twenty-five Pakistani fishermen returned home on Saturday after being released from Indian jails, crossing into Pakistan through the Wagah-Attari border in Lahore, the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi said.
The prisoners crossed the border in the afternoon after completing immigration formalities and were handed over to Pakistani authorities. Officials of the Pakistani mission facilitated the repatriation process and were present at the border.
“The Government of Pakistan will continue its efforts for the release and repatriation of all Pakistani citizens detained in Indian jails,” the high commission said.
Following their repatriation, the Fishermen’s Cooperative Society (FCS) issued a statement congratulating the community on the release of the 25 fishermen, who it said hailed from Karachi and Thatta.
“The Fishermen’s Cooperative Society extends heartfelt congratulations to the fishing community on the release of 25 Pakistani fishermen who had been imprisoned in Indian jails,” the statement said.
The FCS expressed hope that “the released fishermen would return to their homes and families and resume their normal lives”.
FCS spokesman Ghulam Rasool Sheikh told Dawn that the 25 fishermen had been handed over to the Punjab Rangers following their repatriation.
Earlier this month, in a letter addressed to the prime ministers of Pakistan and India, the Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy, the National Fishworkers Forum (NFF-India), the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum and the families of imprisoned fishermen had urged both governments to immediately release and repatriate all prisoners who had completed their sentences and whose nationalities had been verified by their respective governments.
According to the latest available figures before Saturday’s repatriation, 198 Indian fishermen remained imprisoned in Pakistan, while 53 Pakistani fishermen were in Indian prisons. Many of them had continued to languish in prison years after completing their sentences.
Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2026
