"We released 220 Indian fishermen today as a goodwill gesture," Hassan Sehto, a Pakistani prison official, told the AFP news agency.

The same number of Indian fishermen remain in Pakistani custody; however, Pakistan's Dunya TV said the second batch of fishermen could be released on January 5, 2017.

The released fishermen are expected to be handed over to Indian authorities at the eastern Wagah border on Monday, according to the local media.

Indian and Pakistani fishermen are often held for illegal fishing since the Arabian Sea border is not clearly demarcated. Many of these inadvertently cross over into the other country's territory due to the lack of navigation systems in their boats.

The captured fishermen then usually spend years in jail without access to legal support. Poor diplomatic ties between the two South Asian rivals mean that not only are the bureaucratic requirements for the release of these fishermen not fulfilled, some of them are even perceived as the "enemy" country's spies.

A spokesperson for the Pakistan-India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD), an NGO striving for friendly relations between India and Pakistan, said that now New Delhi should reciprocate the Pakistani gesture and release Pakistani fishermen held in Indian prisons.

Relations between India and Pakistan have been tense since the killing of Burhan Wani, a separatist leader in India-administered Kashmir, in July. While New Delhi accuses Islamabad of backing an armed insurgency in its part of Kashmir, Islamabad says its support to the Kashmiri separatists is only "moral" and "political."

Both nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors claim the Himalayan region in full but rule parts of the valley.</s>Pakistan on Sunday released 220 Indian fishermen as a ”goodwill gesture” on the occasion of Christmas. “Of the 518 Indian fishermen [in Pakistani prison], 220 are being released today as a goodwill gesture of the Pakistan government,” said Shunali Shah, assistant superintendent of police of Karachi’s District Jail Malir.

The fishermen were taken into custody after they inadvertently ventured into Pakistani waters. They are expected to return to India on Monday.

On Wednesday, NGO Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy had said that another batch of 219 fishermen will be released on January 5. The organisation is a civil society forum set up by activists in both countries in 1994 to promote peace and democracy between them. Urging New Delhi to reciprocate the goodwill gesture by Islamabad, the forum said it had not met the Narendra Modi government since it came to power in May 2014.

The fishermen’s release comes amid souring relations between India and Pakistan since a militant attack on an Indian Army camp in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri district and the surgical strikes the Indian Army conducted along the LoC following the attack.</s>As a goodwill gesture, Pakistani authorities on Sunday released 220 Indian fishermen in the first batch on Sunday. The second batch of 219 fishermen will be released on January 5, 2017.

 According to official sources, the freed Indian fishermen were sent to Karachi’s Cantt Railway Station from Malir District Jail. The fishermen were arrested for violating territorial waters of Pakistan in the Arabian Sea.

 They will be handed over to the Indian authorities at Wagah Border in Lahore.

 A spokesperson of the Pakistan-India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD), an NGO striving for the Indo-Pak amity, had earlier stated that after this goodwill gesture from the Pakistani side, India should also reciprocate the gesture by releasing Pakistani fishermen lodged in Indian prisons.

 Both countries frequently arrest fishermen from the other country for the alleged violation of territorial waters in the Arabian Sea. —NNI

 ms, as poor diplomatic ties between the two neighbours mean fulfilling bureaucratic requirements can take a long time.</s>KARACHI: The Pakistani authorities as a goodwill gesture released first batch comprising 220 Indian fishermen on Sunday while the second batch of 219 fishermen will be released on January 05, 2017.

The Indian fishermen freed from Malir Jail were sent to Cantt Railway Station Karachi. They will be handed over to the Indian authorities at Wagah Border in Lahore.

A spokesperson of the Pakistan-India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD), an NGO striving for the Indo-Pak amity, had earlier stated that after this goodwill gesture from the Pakistani side, India should also reciprocate the gesture by releasing Pakistani fishermen lodged in Indian prisons.

Both countries frequently arrest fishermen from the other country for the alleged violation of territorial waters in the Arabian Sea. —INP</s>Pakistan has released 220 Indian fishermen in a gesture aimed at easing heightened tensions with its neighbor.

Pakistani officials said the Indian fishermen were released from a jail in the port city of Karachi on December 25.

The Indian nationals were arrested more than a year ago, accused of entering Pakistani waters in an area of the Arabian Sea where the border is unclear.

Another 219 Indian fishermen will be released by Pakistan on January 5, officials said.

The move on December 25 comes on the birthday of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah and coincides with Christmas Day.

Pakistani officials hope the gesture will be reciprocated by India, which has detained scores of Pakistani fishermen.

Ties between the nuclear-armed neighbors have recently deteriorated over violence in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is divided between the two countries.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters</s>Pakistan on Sunday released 220 Indian fishermen held for trespassing into its territorial waters as a “goodwill gesture” to its nuclear-armed rival India, officials said.

“We released 220 Indian fishermen today as a goodwill gesture,” Deputy Superintendent of Karachi’s Malir prison Hassan Sehto told AFP, adding that 219 others still remain in Pakistani custody.

The freed fishermen are expected to cross over into India on Monday. Indian and Pakistani fishermen are frequently detained for illegal fishing since the Arabian Sea border is not clearly defined and many boats lack the technology to fix their precise location.

The fishermen often languish in jail, even after serving their terms, as poor diplomatic ties between the two neighbours mean fulfilling bureaucratic requirements can take a long time. Relations between the two nations have plummeted since a deadly attack on an Indian army base in the disputed region of Kashmir in September, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed.

There have since been repeated outbreaks of cross-border firing, with both sides reporting deaths and injuries. Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in full and have fought two wars over the mountainous region.</s>As a goodwill gesture, the Pakistan government on Sunday released 220 Indian fishermen who were held for allegedly violating territorial waters and fishing, a few hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on his birthday. The release as well as the greetings come amid escalated tensions between the two countries over cross-border terrorism.

Modi wished Sharif on his birthday through Twitter on Sunday. The greeting came a year after Modi landed in Lahore on an unscheduled visit to personally greet Sharif on his birthday and had also attended the wedding of the Pakistan prime minister's relative.

Therefore, Pakistan responded by releasing 220 fishermen on Sunday as a "goodwill" gesture, jail superintendent Hassan Sehto said, adding that the fishermen "will be handed over to Indian officials at Wagah border." About 219 fishermen are still in Pakistan's custody. The released fishermen would board the train to Lahore from where they will head to Wagah, following which they will cross the border on Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Pakistani activists have demanded that all Pakistani fishermen be released from Indian jails in response to the country's gesture of releasing 220 Indian fishermen on Sunday, the Indian Express reported.

Leaders of fishermen and trade unions in Pakistan held a joint press conference in Karachi on Saturday following the announcement by the country's government. A release by the Pakistan-India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) demanded that India release 150 Pakistani fishermen who have been languising in Indian prisons for years.

Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum Chairman Muhammad Ali Shah said that the prime ministers of both the countries in 1997 had assured at SAARC summit that a mechanism would be put in place to deport fishermen to their countries if they crossed into their neighbours' borders, the daily reported.

The Indian Coast Guard had arrested 26 Pakistani fishermen and seized their boats on December 20 and also added that PMSA had also arrested 43 Indian fishermen on November 20, the PIPFPD release quoted Pakistan's National Labour Council secretary Karamat Ali as saying.

The PIPFPD is an organisation of Indian and Pakistani activists who work to promote friendly relationship between the two countries.

"Currently 156 Pakistani fisher folk are languishing in various Indian jails. Among them are 13 children. Meanwhile, 513 Indian fishermen are incarcerated in Pakistani jails," the release quoted Ali as saying.

Both countries frequently arrest each others' fishermen for violating the territorial boundary, due to which they end up spending months or years in jails before being released and sent to their own countries.</s>Pakistan releases Indian fishermen in bid to ease tensions with Delhi

KARACHI, Pakistan, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Pakistan released 220 Indian fishermen on Sunday as a goodwill gesture aimed at easing tensions with its neighbour, officials said.

The men were arrested more than a year ago, accused of entering Pakistani waters in an area of the Arabian Sea where the border is unclear.

India is also holding Pakistani fishermen for the same reason and Pakistan hopes its gesture - on the birthday of the nation's father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, which coincides with Christmas Day - will be reciprocated.

"We have total of 518 Indian fishermen out of which 220 are being released today as a goodwill gesture of the Pakistan government. In the next phase, 219 fishermen will be released on Jan. 5," Shunail Husain Shah, a police assistant superintendent, told Reuters.

Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have been more fraught than usual since a crackdown by Indian forces on dissent in Indian-controlled Kashmir began in July. In September militants killed 18 soldiers at an Indian army base, an attack New Delhi blamed on Pakistan.

"We appreciate Pakistan's goodwill gesture of releasing Indian fishermen, but we expect a similar reciprocal move by India, 156 Pakistani fishermen including 13 children are languishing in Indian jails," Muhammad Ali Shah, president of Pakistan Fisher Folk, a fishermen's rights body. told Reuters.

The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea states that fishermen who cross territorial waters can be warned and fined but not arrested, and Shah called on both countries to respect that.

One of the fishermen being released, who goes by the single name Naresh, told Reuters: "I am very happy, looking forward to meet my family back in Gujarat. We were treated nicely here, I will request the Indian government release the detained Pakistani fishermen as well." (Reporting by Syed Raza Hassan; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)</s>Islamabad, Dec 25 (IANS) Pakistani authorities on Sunday released 220 Indian fishermen as a goodwill gesture, the media reported.

The Indian fishermen were arrested for allegedly entering Pakistan’s territorial waters illegally and fishing, Daily Pakistan newspaper quoted official sources as saying.

The men were released from Malir jail in the port city of Karachi.

The freed fishermen are expected to be handed over to the Indian authorities at the Wagah border on Monday.

In a continuation of the goodwill gesture, a second group of 219 fishermen will be set free on January 5, next year, said the report.

A spokesperson of the Pakistan-India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) had earlier said that India should reciprocate this goodwill gesture from Pakistan and release Pakistani fishermen held by Indian authorities.</s>Pakistan on Sunday released 220 Indian fishermen, a goodwill gesture which comes amid strain in ties after the recent cross border terror incidents. The 220 fishermen released from Malir jail here were arrested for allegedly entering Pakistan’s territorial waters illegally and fishing, jail superintendent Hassan Sehto told PTI.

The fishermen boarded a train to Lahore, from where they will be handed over to Indian authorities at the Wagah border.

“The interior ministry ordered the release of the 220 fishermen while 219 are still in our custody,” Sehto said.

The goodwill gesture comes amid strain in ties between the two countries after Pakistan-based terrorists attacked an Indian army base in Uri in September.

Last week, the Pakistan fishermen forum claimed that Indian maritime authorities had picked up dozens of Pakistani fishermen from inside Pakistan’s territorial waters near the Gujarat coastline and taken them away, though the government has not responded to the claim so far.
Pakistan releases Indian fishermen caught in its territory as a gesture of goodwill.