LAHORE: Haggard and tired, after being imprisoned for years, 64 Pakistanis released by India arrived at the Wagah border on Tuesday. They were received there by South Asia Partnership, Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, Pakistan Institute for Labour Education and Research and members of the civil society.
Of those released, 55 were fishermen who belonged to districts and fishing villages of Karachi and Thatta, while the rest were imprisoned for various crimes, and were released after completing their sentences. “I have missed my family for a very long time,” said one of the former prisoners.
“Now I find it so wonderful to be back, and that too when I can celebrate Eid with my family,” he grinned. Sami Memon of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (Karachi) told Pakistan Today that the fishermen were in a bad state. “Their interviews lasted for a whole day,” he said while waiting for the prisoners’ final return.
“Their interviews are expected to finish late on Tuesday, which means it will be dark by the time they reach Sindh and they have to be dropped to far flung areas, such as Kajar Creek, which is the last of the 17 creeks of Sindh.” He said of the 55, 32 were Bengalis, 13 were Sindhis and two were Pukhtoons. The remaining were from Punjab, Memon said.
He said it was expected that another 150 Pakistani prisoners would be released within the next two weeks. The expected people include those who have been jailed since 1993 and completed their sentence a long time ago. Memon said the prisoners released by the Pakistani government were compensated for their confiscated boats once they returned home, however, those returning to Pakistan were treated like criminals and offered no compensation.
“These people have no other way of earning when they return, so jail was a good way for them to escape their troubles,” he said. “But here their families are literally starving without their help.” Memon said the forum often tried to convince the Pakistani government to provide more security for them, but to no avail, even though the fishermen faced problems such as over fishing, for which they crossed into deeper seas and sometimes into Indian border.
“But at other times, many are arrested by each government from Sir Creek, because it is a disputed territory,” he said.
