Islamabad: Pakistan has released over 173 Indian fishermen and another prisoner today who had been jailed in Karachi as a gesture of goodwill to Indian authorities at the Wagah border.
The fishermen who were released on Sunday had been held at the Malir and Landhi District Jail in Karachi for allegedly violating Pakistan's territorial waters in the Arabian Sea.
Majority of the fishermen released were those who had completed their sentences.
Their release came days after the Prime Ministers of the two countries decided to resume high-level contacts.
In a statement, the foreign office on Monday said, "Pakistan has always held that the issue of prisoners between the two countries is a humanitarian one and should be taken in that spirit."
“It is our hope that the Government of India would also release all Pakistani prisoners who have completed their sentences,” it said.
India and Pakistan regularly arrest fishermen who venture into unmarked territorial waters of the two countries.
Last month, Pakistani marine security forces arrested 38 Indian fishermen after they strayed into Pakistani waters.
Pakistan in November last year released 40 Indian prisoners, mostly fishermen, from a jail here after Sharif shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with Modi at the SAARC Summit in Nepal.
