LAHORE : April 13 2023:. People Forum for peace between Pakistan and India and dozens of other human rights organisation have called upon top political leadership of both India and Pakistan to release those fishermen who were linguishing in joils on both sides even after completing their jail terms .
An SoS presented by human rights organisations to the prime ministers of both countries at a presser here on Thursday said
“We the undersigned organization, representing people of the South Asian region and deeply impacted by the current situation, is writing to both of you seeking your urgent attention and intervention on the following issue”.
The SoS said close to 750 fisher prisoners are languishing in the jails in both countries, after they got arrested outside the territorial waters of their country of origin. India and Pakistan have been arresting fishers from other country, for the past many years. These prisoners, charged with trespassing the water borders, are imprisoned after trial by courts that sentence them to a few months of prison term, for violation of the Passport Act of the respective country. The sentence for the charged crime is normally a prison term of 6 months. However, in the case of these fisher prisoners, it has been noticed that their release is never close to being prompt as their arrest and incarceration are.
As per the available records, 654 Indian fishermen are in Pakistan’s Landi jail, Karachi. Out of that 631 fishermen have already completed their sentences long back and their nationality is also confirmed. Similarly, Pakistan’s 83 fishermen are in various prisons in the state of Gujarat and as per fisher organisation records, 118 Pakistani fishers are in Indian jails. Most of them have completed their sentences and their nationality is also confirmed. These people were arrested way back in 2015-16 till 2022 and many of them have already served several times the period of actual sentencing.
The bilateral Agreement on Consular Access, 2008, is quite clear on the issue. Section (v) of the agreement says “Both Governments agree to release all persons within one month of confirmation of their national status and completion of their sentences”. Not releasing them is a clear violation of the agreement and highly inhuman.
We, through you, also call upon the heads of both countries to take this matter seriously and release these innocent fishermen from both sides on the holy month of Ramadan and Eid.
On August 27, 2010, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that a fisherman whose sentence has expired and who is not involved in any other crime should be released immediately. As a result, Pakistan released 442 captive fishermen. The present government should respect this decision and release these prisoners immediately.Most of the time, along with the fishermen, their children, who accompany them to fish in the seas, are also arrested and jailed. In 1997, 38 Indian fishing children were released during the tenure of Mohammad Nawaz Sharif. We demand that these children should not be arrested and steps should be taken for their immediate release.
These marine workers are economically dependent on boats that are confiscated. For the restoration of their economic life and the welfare of the families, it is very important that their confiscated boats are returned so thatthey can immediately support their families and contribute to the country’s economy.
The arrested fishermen continue to suffer in jails in other countries and their families suffer financially and psychologically. In many cases, their children also have to discontinue their education.
We also demand from the two governments provide a telephone facility for the jailed fishermen to talk to their families.
Given the importance and severity of this important issue, we call on both countries to mobilize the Joint Judicial Committee established in 2008, consisting of two judges each from the high courts of the two countries, to regularly review the situation of prisoners in their respective countries and ensure the immediate release of prisoners who have completed their sentences.
The issue needs human touch to resolve it. We hope you will oblige us and the families of the fisher people by releasing and repatriating the fishermen on the occasion of the auspicious days of Ramzan Eid and Budh”.