Porbandar: 80 Indian fishermen from Gujarat were released by Pakistan last week. One of these fishermen told the media that they were instructed not to vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the next elections.

Dharmeshbhai Wala, who was apprehended three years ago in 2020, recently returned to his hometown of Porbandar. According to Wala, there are still 184 Indian fishermen lodged in Pakistani jails.

Talking to the media Dharmeshbhai said, “We were nabbed in international waters and taken to Karachi. After that we were lodged in the Malir Landhi Jail.”

“However, the situation is not good for Indian fishermen, as some are sick. Around 6-7 people died this year itself, and 7-8 are sick, so I request the government to repatriate these fishermen as well. I appeal to the fishermen not to go into Pakistani waters. There are sick fishermen in Pakistani jails, and some of them are paralyzed. While they do provide medicine, it is not sufficient. Many fishermen, including me, contracted skin diseases while in jail,” he added

“There are around 7,000 to 7,500 prisoners in the jail, so you can imagine what kind of food will be made. We used to do some labor work and make our own vegetable dishes using the money earned,” he said while talking about the quality of food in the jail.

“We had no hope of getting released due to multiple cases filed against us. Now I can pray to God and request the government of Gujarat to help these fishermen get released,” Wala said.

“We were in Malir Landhi Jail, which was huge. Indian fishermen were kept separately. We used to get a break from the barracks to roam in an open area, but at that time, Pakistani prisoners were not released to avoid any clashes,” he added.

Wala also told the media, “We were told that Modi is like this and like that. They also used to tell us that your government does not want you back, but we knew that it was not the case. The Pakistanis used to tell us that next time when the election comes, do not vote for Modi and do not let him win.”

“Moreover whenever Virat Kohli used to come to play, they also used to pray that he gets out when he came on the pitch,” he added.

“I will not do fishing anymore; I will do some hard work but not fish. I want to tell my fisherman brothers to stay away from Pakistani waters by 50 – 60 kms. As there is no wall in the sea to show the boundary even the captain loses the tracks and venture into Pakistani sea,” said the recently returned fisherman.

There were 82 people who were to be released in this batch, but 2 of them died before the release. DeshGujarat