Pakistan urges India to release 97 prisoners who have completed sentences

Pakistan on Wednesday urged India to release 97 Pakistani prisoners who have completed their jail terms, according to the Foreign Office.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said that the prisoners include 64 civilians and 33 fishermen.

The statement came as Pakistan and India exchanged updated lists of prisoners in each other’s custody under the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access, a process carried out twice every year on January 1 and July 1.

According to the FO, Pakistan handed over a list of 250 Indian prisoners held in the country to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. The list included 52 civilians and 198 fishermen.

In return, India shared a list of 439 prisoners who are either Pakistani or believed to be Pakistani. These include 386 civilians and 53 fishermen.

Pakistan also asked India to ensure the safety and well-being of all Pakistani prisoners and those believed to be Pakistani. The FO said Islamabad had also sought quick consular access to verify the nationality of those prisoners.

The issue of prisoners remains a humanitarian concern in relations between the two countries. The Pakistan-India Judicial Committee on Prisoners, formed in 2007 to deal with such issues, has remained inactive since 2013 due to tensions between the two sides.