Ahmedabad: In an effort to speed up the release and repatriation of nearly 200 Indian fishermen imprisoned in Pakistan, a delegation comprising activists and women from fisherfolk families of Gujarat met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi on Monday and submitted a formal representation.

The delegation included a few activists working for fishermen’s rights, such as Jatin Desai, Jivan Jungi and Chhagan Bamania, along with three women from affected fishing families. In their submission, they pointed out that most of the detained fishermen are from Gujarat, Diu and Maharashtra, and that around 160 of them have already completed their sentences, with their Indian nationality confirmed long ago.

It added that their continued detention violates the India–Pakistan Agreement on Consular Access, 2008, which mandates release within one month of sentence completion.

The representation raised concerns over the fishermen’s health and prolonged lack of communication with their families, and put forward six demands, including immediate release and repatriation, medical and humanitarian relief, revival of the Joint Judicial Committee on Prisoners, return of confiscated fishing boats, and support for affected families. DeshGujarat