24 Indian fishers perished in Pakistan jails in 10 years, RTI reveals

Mumbai, Sep 30 (IANS) As many as 24 Indian fisherfolk perished in Pakistan prisons in the past 10 years, as per a reply under RTI received by a Mumbai-based activist Jatin Desai, here on Monday.

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 jail custody.

One fisher, Vinod Laxman from Palghar district (Maharashtra), passed away 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), breathed his last 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 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 that country’s maritime agencies.

Of these, 180 fishers have already completed their jail sentences and their nationalities have also been verified long ago; but a decision on their repatriation to India is not done.

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. Two, one from Palghar and another from Saurashtra, died this year, according to the RTI reply.

Among those in prisons, the health condition of around 10 fishers is reported to be a matter of concern for their families here, he added.

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 that has yet to be done, said the activist.