11 Pak prisoners released after completion of sentence

the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan, India released 11 Pakistani prisoners who have served their sentence. They were sent back to Pakistan via the Attari-Wagah border on Monday afternoon.

This is the first such move from the Indian authorities since Kulbhushan Jadhav was served death sentence by a Pakistani court. It also comes days after PM Narendra Modi met Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Astana (Kazakhstan’s capital).

The released prisoners crossed the border around 2.30 pm. Four of the prisoners have been released from Sri Nagar jail, three from Rajasthan, two from Amritsar, one from Ambala and another from Delhi.

The released prisoners were identified as Murtaja Akeed, Arshad Khan, Mohammad Islam and Saffullah Khan from Sri Nagar jail; Mohammad Sajjid, Zahid Ali and Mahinder Kumar from Rajasthan jail; Masood Akhtar from Ambala; Mohammad Javed from Delhi; and Shauqat Ali and Rashid Ahmed from Amritsar jail.

Of them, Murtaja Akeed, a resident of Gujranwala city, Pakistan, told the media, “I was 16-year-old when I came to Kashmir with 22 friends on a personal visit. I was caught and jailed and today, I am 32-year-old. Being in jail, I read a lot of literature. I came across Sanskrit and Hindu methodology. I will be glad to share the knowledge and culture of this country to my native people.”

Another prisoner Mahinder Kumar said he was arrested at the Rajasthan border for indulging in spying and was jailed for 12 years.

The released prisoners were identified as Murtaja Akeed, Arshad Khan, Mohammad Islam and Saffullah Khan from Sri Nagar jail; Mohammad Sajjid, Zahid Ali and Mahinder Kumar from Rajasthan jail; Masood Akhtar from Ambala; Mohammad Javed from Delhi; and Shauqat Ali and Rashid Ahmed from Amritsar jail.