Mumbai: An RTI received by a Mumbai-based activist, Jatin Desai, here on Monday uncovered a grim reality of the fate of as many as 24 Indian fisherfolks who perished in Pakistan prisons in the past ten years.
Citing the official data for the period January 2014 to December 2023, the RTI reply from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad revealed that a total of 24 have died in Pakistan’s prison.
One fisherman, Vinod Laxman from Palghar district (Maharashtra), died on March 17, and his body was sent back home on May 1 this year for the last rites.
Another fisherman, Suresh Natu of Saurashtra (Gujarat), passed away in a Karachi jail on September 5, but his mortal remains are yet to be repatriated, Desai said, adding that the family has been anxiously waiting for his body for the past three weeks.
Desai said that till date, 210 Indian fisherfolk continue to languish in Pakistani jails for crossing the international water borders ‘inadvertently’ and getting caught by the country’s maritime agencies.
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Of these, 180 fishers have already completed their jail sentences, and their nationalities have also been verified long ago; however, a decision on their repatriation to India is yet to be made.
Of the total (180) Indian fisherfolk, at least 52 have spent more than three years in Pakistan jails, and the remaining 130 have been in prisons there for over two years.
He added that the health condition of around ten fishers in prisons is reported to be a matter of concern for their families.
Desai said that as per the Bilateral Agreement on Consular Access, 2008, Sec. (V) categorically states: “Both governments agree to release and repatriate persons within one month of confirmation of their national status and completion of sentences.”
This means that around 180 Indian fishers should have been released and sent back to India long ago, but the activist said that was yet to be done.
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–IANS
