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News Desk: According to the information given by the Government of Pakistan, 577 Indian fishermen are in their custody. This has been informed in the Rajya Sabha on behalf of the Foreign Office. BJP MP Mahesh Poddar brought the question. In response, State Minister for External Affairs V Muralitharan said that on January 1, 2022, Pakistan had admitted that 56 fishermen were in Pakistan’s custody. They are considered to be Indians. On the other hand, 9 Indian fishermen have died in Pakistani jails in the last 5 years.
Meanwhile, the Union Minister said that a bilateral agreement was reached between the two countries in 2006. Accordingly, on January 1 and July 1 of each year, the two countries exchange information on fishermen and general prisoners in neighbouring countries. On the other hand, the Union Minister said that the country has taken necessary steps in this regard as soon as the news of Indian fishermen being caught by Pakistan was received. As a result, 2140 Indian fishermen and 58 Indian boats have been repatriated from Pakistan till 2014. On the other hand, in the last 5 years, 9 Indian fishermen have died in Pak jails.
However, not a single Indian fisherman died in a Sri Lankan jail. A total of 239 Indian fishermen were arrested by Sri Lanka in 2021 and 2022. However, the Indian government has made arrangements to release all those arrested in 2021.
