ISLAMABAD: Pakistan handed over a list of 518 Indians imprisoned in Pakistan to the High Commission of India in Islamabad, according to a Foreign Office statement issued here on Friday.
The statement said that the list contained 55 civilians and 463 fishermen imprisoned in Pakistan. This step is consistent with the provisions of the Consular Access Agreement, signed on May 21, 2008, between Pakistan and India. Both Islamabad and New Delhi had signed the agreement to grant consular access to the prisoners on both the sides within a specified time frame.
India’s then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukhrjee (now president) visited Pakistan to sign the agreement with his then Pakistani counterpart (foreign affairs minister) Shah Mahmood Qureshi. The aim of the agreement was to reduce chances of mistaken identity, provide immediate legal aid to the detainees and most importantly to help the prisoners well after their sentence was over.
The agreement was a major step towards bringing in more transparency and understanding between the two neighbours on the sensitive issue that often has domestic political implications. The detainees are to be tried as per domestic law in the country concerned, the agreement would help ensure fair treatment and no physical harm.
Under the agreement, both the countries are also required to exchange lists of the prisoners in each other’s custody twice a year, on January 1 and July 1, the Foreign Office said. The Indian government would also hand over the list of Pakistani prisoners to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.
