100 fishermen return,more than 300 still in Pak jails

The 100 fishermen who came to India on Saturday evening narrated the deplorable conditions of the Pakistan jails.

The 100 fishermen who came to India on Saturday evening narrated the deplorable conditions of the Pakistan jails. All these fishermen,from Gujarat and Maharashtra,were taken prisoners after they entered the territorial waters of Pakistan while fishing at the Arabian Sea.

The jails in Karachi are filled with more than 300 Indian fishermen. Their only fault entering Pakistan waters by mistake,as there are no visible demarcations on the sea, said Ramesh,a fisherman from Una in Gujarat. The strained relations between India and Pakistan have been stumbling blocks in ensuring release of Indian prisoners,he added.

Usually Indian fishermen are sentenced to six months to two years in jail. But most of them have been languishing there since three to four years, said Ishu Abdul,from Jamnagar,who came back after spending over three years in a Pakistan jail.

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It feels good to be back with our families after so long. There were times when we lost hope that we would ever return, said Shauken from Rajkot.

The fishermen,who were arrested by Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA),lost their boats and are now worried about their livelihood. I will look for something else to earn a living but will not go back to fishing now, said Amirulla,another fisherman who returned after three years. I am worried about those who have been left behind. I cannot do much but appeal to the Indian Government to help them. One of the prisoners died before my eyes last week in the jail, said another fisherman Ishu. The Indian High Commission in Pakistan had,after rigorous verification and thorough talks with Pakistani officials,managed to secure release of these 100 prisoners.

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