There are 793 Indians in Pakistani jails, out of which 582 are fishermen.
Of the remaining 211, who are all civilians, India has so far been given consular access to only 33 prisoners.
There are 793 Indians languishing in Pakistani jails for various reasons, and many of them are without any consular access. Of these 582 are fishermen who had reportedly strayed into neighbouring marine territory. The remaining 211 are prisoners.
According to the ministry of external affairs (MEA), Pakistan has allowed only 33 prisoners at the Indian high commission in Islamabad to get consular access, while 178 are languishing in jails.
Consular access is provided by the embassy or high commission to its citizens under detention on a foreign soil.
To a question in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, external affairs minister SM Krishna said the release of Indian prisoners from Pakistani jails had been a priority. He said the matter was raised repeatedly with Pakistan when the foreign secretaries met first in February and then in June. More meetings took place when home minister P Chidambaram visited Islamabad on 25 June and Krishna’s talks in Islamabad on July 15.
Pakistan released on June 17 prisoners who were in Pakistani jails for 2 to 7 years, for illegally crossing the border, illegal stay, alleged spying, violating Foreigners’ Act, Official Secrets Act and other laws.
An Indo-Pak Judicial Committee on Prisoners, consisting of four retired judges from each side, has been set up to recommend steps for expeditious release of prisoners from India and Pakistan. The committee has so far met thrice and has made several recommendations, the foreign minister said.
Krishna said that during his recent visit to Pakistan, the Pakistan foreign minister had assured him that the investigation in the Mumbai terrorist attack case would be pursued rigorously to bring all the perpetrators of that heinous crime to justice.
“The discussions held during the [home minister’s] visit enabled both countries to develop a better understanding of each other’s position on various issues. Despite differences of opinion on the way forward on a few issues, there was a broad understanding on a number of other issues,” Krishna told Rajya Sabha.
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