On the first day of the year, India and Pakistan on Monday exchanged through
diplomatic channels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad, the lists of civilian
prisoners and fishermen in each other’s custody as well as that of nuclear installations
and facilities. Following the same, the details of the exercise are given out by the
Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
Simultaneous Diplomatic Activity Between The Two Neighbours
Under the provisions of the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access, a diplomatic
protocol, lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen are exchanged by the two countries
on 1 January and 1 July each year.
India has shared a list of 337 civilian prisoners and 81 fishermen in its custody, who
are Pakistani nationals or believed to be Pakistanis. Similarly, Pakistan has shared the
list of 47 civilian prisoners and 184 fishermen in its custody, who are Indian nationals
or are believed to be Indians.
Expedite Early Release And Repatriation Of Indians, Urges New
Delhi
New Delhi has urged for early release and repatriation of civilian prisoners, fishermen
along with their vessels, and missing Indian defence personnel from Pakistan’s
custody. In this context, Pakistan was asked to expedite the release and repatriation of
184 Indian fishermen, who have completed their sentence.
Pakistan has also been asked to provide immediate consular access to the remaining
12 civilian prisoners in Pakistan’s custody believed to be Indians. Pakistan has been
requested to ensure the safety, security, and welfare of all Indian and believed-to-be
Indian civilian prisoners and fishermen, pending their release and repatriation to India.
”India remains committed to addressing, on priority, all humanitarian matters, including
those pertaining to prisoners and fishermen in each other’s country.
In this context,
India has urged Pakistan to expedite necessary action at its end to confirm the
nationality status of 65 believed-to-be Pakistani prisoners, including fishermen, whose
repatriation is pending for want of nationality confirmation from Pakistan,” the press
release from Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
It mentioned that through sustained efforts by the government, 2639 Indian fishermen
and 67 Indian civilian prisoners have been repatriated from Pakistan since 2014. This
includes 478 Indian fishermen and nine Indian civilian prisoners who were repatriated
from Pakistan in 2023.
The exchange of lists of nuclear installations is covered under an Agreement on the
Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between the two
countries.
The agreement was signed on 31 December 1988 and entered into force on 27
January 1991. It provides, among other things, that both nations inform each other of
the nuclear installations and facilities to be covered under the agreement on the first
of January of every calendar year. A similar exercise is carried out on the first of July
every year.
This is the 33rd consecutive exchange of such lists between the two countries, with
the first one having taken place on January 1, 1992.
Bengali