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Pakistan frees 26 Indian fishermen as 'goodwill gesture'


KARACHI: Pakistan on Thursday released 26 Indian fishermen including a cancer patient held in prison for more than two years for violating territorial waters, officials said.

The release, described as a "goodwill gesture", comes days after President Asif Ali Zardari met Indian PM Manmohan Singh for lunch in New Delhi on the first visit by a Pakistani head of state to their arch-rivals in seven years.

"We have released 26 Indian fishermen from our jail on the instructions of the government," Nazeer Husain Shah, superintendent of the Malir district prison.

Jail officials handed gifts to the Indians before boarding them onto a bus that will take them to the eastern city of Lahore, where they will be handed over to the authorities across the border.

The 25 fishermen left Karachi for Lahore in a bus while the cancer patient would be flown to Lahore on Friday.

The released Indian fishermen include a Muslim. The Indian fishermen would be handed over to Indian authorities at Wagha border.

The released fishermen's names are Satish, Devsi, Sagan Jiva, Jagdish Punja, Deplu Balu, Arsi Punja, Darsing Babu, Manu Ragan, Hador Ransi, Ransi Nathu, Babu Karsan, Parbat Raja, Lahman Samat, Jina Parbat, Vinu Govind, Dipak Puna, Rati Lakhman, Dada Ibrahim, Magzi Bawa, Jitu Mesri, Mithun Jetha, Samad Bawa, Ratilal Lakhman, Samad Lakhman, Dar Singh, and Dens Sukha After the release of 26 fishermen, still there would be 439 Indian fishermen lodged in Malir Jail.


Courtesy www.geo.tv

 

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