LAHORE: Two Pakistani sisters accompanied by one of the sisters’ daughter have been handed over to the Pakistani authorities on Thursday after having spent 11 years in jail term in an Indian prison.
The sisters’ family was present at the border area to receive them.
As per reports, the two sisters, Fatima and Mumtaz, and their mother Rasheedan Bibi belonging to Gujranwala had travelled to India via Samjhota Express in 2006, where they had been taken into custody over alleged charges of smuggling drugs.
While serving jail term in Amritsar prison, Rasheedan Bibi died after two years while one of the sisters Fatima delivered a baby girl while in prison. The girl named Hina, now 10 has also been sent back to Pakistan.
Besides having spent about 11 years in prison, the accused were also fined Rs200,000 each. Although their jail term ended earlier during the year, the accused were not set free since the fine remained unpaid.
An India based non-government organisation (NGO) paid the fine allowing release of prisoners.
In addition, reports confirmed that Indian authorities have also released the fisherman who had been taken into custody over alleged illegal fishing due to the Arabian Sea border not being clearly demarcated.