INDIA, PAK SHARE PRISONER LISTS

India and Pakistan shared lists of prisoners lodged in their jails. While India shared a list of 250 prisoners and 94 fishermen with Pakistan, the neighbouring country exchanged a list of 58 prisoners and 399 fishermen in its custody.

NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: India on Monday reiterated its demand for consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav and Hamid Nehal Ansari, both currently in custody in Pakistan, as the two countries exchanged lists of prisoners being held in each other’s jails.

Jadhav is currently on death row after a Pakistani military court gave him capital punishment for alleged involvement in espionage. Ansari, who was arrested after he illegally entered Pakistan in 2012 to meet a woman he befriended on social media, was given a three-year prison term by a military court that will end in December.

“We also await consular access to those Indian nationals in Pakistan’s custody for whom it has so far not been provided, including Kulbhushan Jadhav and Hamid Nehal Ansari,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

Both countries exchange lists of prisoners twice a year in line with the agreement on Consular Access signed in May 2008. According to the latest Indian list, there are 250 Pakistani civilians and 94 fishermen in Indian jails. Pakistan allowed Jadhav to meet his wife and mother on December 25 but Islamabad’s handling of the meeting sparked a row between the two countries.

The Indian side also asked Pakistan to speed up the confirmation of the nationality another 58 Pakistani nationals, including four fishermen, who had completed their prison terms. The statement said a juvenile named Hasnain, whose nationality was verified by Pakistan, would be repatriated on Monday.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in a statement that 457 Indians, including 58 civilians and 399 fishermen, were currently in the country’s prisons.

Islamabad also announced it would release 146 Indian fishermen on January 8.

The external affairs ministry statement said India is committed to addressing humanitarian matters, including those pertaining to prisoners and fishermen.

The government has “repeatedly emphasised the need for early release and repatriation of civilian prisoners, missing Indian defence personnel and fishermen along with their boats”, it said.

Both countries arrest hundreds of fishermen each year on charges of crossing the maritime boundary.