Release fishermen arrested by India, Pakistan: NFF and PIPFPD

In a joint letter to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, NFF chairperson M Ellango and  PIPFPD secretary Jatin Desai  said the issue of fish workers arrests between India and Pakistan by the Maritime Security Agency (MSA) of Pakistan and the Indian Coast Guard dates back to several decades. However the number of people arrested has currently been on the rise.

They said as per the provisions of the Consular agreement, the lists of prisoners including civilian prisoners and fishermen has been exchanged on January 1, 2016 with a hope that  immediate action will be taken by  the minister in order to facilitate the release of Indian fishermen after the release of fishermen from Pakistan who are languishing in jails of India.   

Stating that  there is an urgent need to take forward the demand for a No Arrest Policy which would be a significant Confidence Building Measure, they  demanded unilateral and unconditional declaration. No Arrest Policy of Pakistani fishermen and boats, so as to prompt a reciprocal action from Pakistan government on this issue.

They also demanded that the interim recommendations of the India- Pakistan Judicial Committee on Prisoners, Lahore, April 30, 2013 be implemented, wherein it was recommended that fishermen be repatriated by sea along with their boats.The work done by the committee was highly appreciated by the governments of both countries but it is disappointing to see that there has been no implementation of the same