Pakistan releases 87 Indian fishermen

Pakistan has released a group of 87 Indian fishermen as a goodwill gesture, Pakistani officials say.

According to Pakistani officials, the Indian fishermen were freed in the southwestern port city of Karachi on Sunday.

Shakir Shah, deputy superintendent of Karachi’s Landhi prison, said those released Sunday had been in jail for more than two and half years.

The prison official added that the jailed fishermen were freed after verification of their travel documents sent by Indian authorities. He also noted that a similar number would be freed later this month.

"We have total 536 Indian fishermen in prison and today we released 87 of them while 86 more will be released on 20th of this month," Shah said.

The fishermen will be handed over to Indian authorities at the Wahga border, a road border crossing between the two countries near the Pakistani eastern city of Lahore.

The journey has been arranged by Pakistan's Edhi foundation, a private charity. Edi foundation officials said the fishermen were given gifts and necessities for their journey.

Both Indian and Pakistani fishermen are frequently detained because of demarcation disputes in the Arabian Sea.

Many of the detainees have been put on trial before being handed over to their countries.

The fishermen often languish in jail even after serving their terms.  Some of them spend years in jail before being repatriated.

The groups working for the welfare of the fishermen say the fishermen mistakenly enter the other side's water.

Poor diplomatic ties between the two arch-rivals mean fulfilling bureaucratic requirements for release of jailed fishermen can take a long time.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.

In the past the two nations have released each other’s fishermen as goodwill gestures.

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