ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India exchanged prisoner lists through diplomatic channels on Monday, as mandated by the Consular Access Agreement of 2008.
In accordance with the agreement, both nations are obligated to share lists of prisoners in each other’s custody on the 1st of January and 1st of July every year.
According to the Foreign Office, Pakistan handed over a list containing 231 Indian prisoners in its custody, comprising 47 civilian prisoners and 184 fishermen, to a representative of the High Commission of India in Islamabad.
Conversely, India provided a list of Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails to an official from the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.
The shared list shows a total of 418 Pakistanis in Indian jails, including 337 civilian prisoners and 81 fishermen.
India has been urged to release and repatriate Pakistani civilian prisoners and fishermen who have completed their respective sentences and whose nationality has been confirmed.
Moreover, a request has been made for consular access to missing defense personnel from the 1965 and 1971 wars, along with special consular access to 77 civil prisoners.
