On the eve of the New Year, India on Thursday announced the release of 31 Pakistani fishermen in Gujarat jails whose nationality has been confirmed by authorities in Islamabad.

The Ministry of External Affairs said here that these fishermen would be repatriated to Pakistan via Attari on January 2. The release of the remaining 19 Pakistani fishermen, whose nationality has been confirmed by Pakistan, is under process and is expected to materialise in the near future.

While New Delhi undertook this gesture, it hoped that Islamabad will take necessary steps at the earliest to release more than 500 Indian fishermen and over 400 Indian fishing boats still in Pakistan’s custody.

Pakistan hands over list of Indian prisoners

Pakistan today handed over to India a list of Indian prisoners being held in the country’s jails.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed over the list of Indian prisoners in Pakistan to an officer of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad at the Foreign Office today,” Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said in a statement.

The number of Indian prisoners in Pakistan could not immediately be ascertained and the statement too did not give details.

India and Pakistan are required to exchange lists of prisoners in each other’s custody on January 1 and July 1 every year under the terms of the Agreement on Consular Access signed by the two countries in May 2008.

Pakistan released 100 Indian fishermen last month and proposed the revival of the Judicial Committee on Prisoners to address the problems of prisoners in both countries.