Pak, India to release fishermen

VADODARA—India and Pakistan will release nearly 500 fishermen in each other’s custody at the Wagah border in Punjab on December 22, officials said Tuesday. India will release over 60 Pakistani fishermen, while Islamabad will set free over 430 Indian fishermen in exchange, the officials told PTI here. The Indian fishermen, most of them from coastal areas of Gujarat, were caught by Pakistan’s Marine Security Agency from the sea. The Pakistani fishermen, held in a jail at Jamnagar in Saurashtra, will be taken to the Wagah border for being handed over after their identification is completed, the officials said.
A team of officials from Gujarat’s fisheries department is leaving for Wagah to receive over 430 fishermen from various parts of the state like Valsad, Navsari, Porbandar, Veraval, Mangarol, Junagadh and Wanakbore, they said. Such an exchange by the two countries is taking place after a long gap, the officials said.—Agencies