Over 800 Pak prisoners languishing in Indian jails: Qureshi - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Over 800 Pakistani prisoners are languishing in Indian jails currently, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said. In a written reply to a question, Qureshi told the National Assembly that there are 785 civil prisoners and 63 Pakistani fishermen locked up in Indian jails at present. Qureshi said that a judicial committee on prisoners was been established in 2007 to ensure the humane treatment of prisoners in both countries and to expedite their release. “The committee was instrumental in the release of 36 juvenile Indian fishermen, who were released by Islamabad on August 15, 2008. During the committee’s visit to India in August 2008, it recommended the release of 56 Pakistani prisoners, including children and women who were arrested for possessing forged visas. These families were released by India in December 2008,” The Daily Times quoted Qureshi, as saying.