Assam Fisherman among 20 Indian Nationals Released by Pakistan Today

New Delhi, January 6, 2020:

Pakistan authorities have released 20 Indian fishermen from Landhi Jail in Karachi and sent them to Lahore. They had been arrested for entering into Pakistani water territory. Among them, a fisherman from Assam has also been released.

They will be handed over to Indian authorities at the Wagah Border on Monday. They were caught by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency in November 2018.

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Simanta Saikia, hailing from the Merapani area of Golaghat district in Assam, was also among the arrested fishermen and accidentally ventured into the Pakistan waters in the Arabian Sea. He was working as an angler at a Gujarat based company.

The Assam fisherman was under Pakistan custody since November 2018. The development took place after YSRCP MP V Vijayasai Reddy urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to seek the release of fishermen who had been captured by Pakistan.

In a letter to the Indian High Commission dated December 31, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry informed that repatriation of fishermen will take place on January 6, i.e. tomorrow.

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The Ministry letter stated, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Islamic Republic of Pakistan presents its compliments to the High Commission of Republic of India in Islamabad and has the honour to convey the decision of the Government of Pakistan to release repatriate following twenty fishermen to India via Wagah Border on 06.01.2020.”

Reportedly, nearly 200 fishermen are still under Pakistan custody.

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