Ahmedabad, August 8, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Families of Indian fishermen lodged in Pakistani jails, along with fishermen’s organisations, have urged India and Pakistan to repatriate all those who have completed their sentences and whose nationality has been verified, appealing for their return before August 15.
The appeal was made in a joint letter dated August 8 to the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan by the Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD), National Fishworkers Forum (NFF), Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) and families of imprisoned fisherpeople.
According to figures cited in the letter, 198 Indian fisherpeople remain imprisoned in Pakistan, while 53 Pakistani fisherpeople are lodged in Indian jails. Of the Indian prisoners, 10 completed their sentences on July 16, 2021, 115 on March 16, 2022, 21 on November 17, 2022, 10 on January 31, 2023, and 22 on July 18, 2024. Their nationality verification has also been completed, the organisations said.
Journalist Jatin Desai, who has worked on the issue for around two decades, said there should be no technical obstacle to repatriating prisoners whose sentences have ended and nationality has been established.
“On 15th August, on releasing each other, sometimes on Eid,” Desai said, arguing that India’s Independence Day could provide an appropriate humanitarian occasion for the release.
He said Pakistan could inform the Indian High Commission in Islamabad about the release date, following which arrangements could be made for repatriation through the Wagah border. Desai said he had raised the issue with officials of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian High Commission and that the Indian government was also pursuing the matter.
Delays in nationality verification
The 2008 Agreement on Consular Access between India and Pakistan provides for consular access within three months of an arrest. Desai, however, said the process was often delayed and that the agreement did not prescribe a specific timeframe for nationality verification.
Section 5 of the agreement states that both governments should release and repatriate persons within one month of confirmation of their national status and completion of their sentences. Section 7 allows either side, in special cases warranting compassionate and humanitarian consideration, to exercise discretion under its laws for early release and repatriation.
Desai suggested that nationality verification should be completed within a maximum of three months. He said identification records could help make the process considerably faster.
He also said fishermen were generally booked under laws concerning passport violations and illegal entry, with the maximum punishment usually being six months, although trials could take longer.
“One should not use poor people as a pawn. That’s happening, that’s a tragic part,” Desai said.
The organisations described the prolonged imprisonment of fishermen as a humanitarian issue, noting that many are poor and either illiterate or semi-literate workers who inadvertently cross the maritime boundary while fishing.
They also called for a “No Arrest Policy” for fishermen who unintentionally cross the maritime boundary. According to the organisations, arrests of Indian fishermen by Pakistan have declined over the past two years as fishermen have become more cautious about approaching the International Maritime Boundary Line.
Families face financial hardship
The prolonged detention has also placed a severe economic and emotional burden on fishermen’s families, the organisations said. In many cases, wives and other relatives have had to take up work to support children after the family’s primary earning member was arrested.
Dhanjikantji Bamaniya, whose 22-year-old son Kapilkantji Bamaniya and 50-year-old Ramji Soma Savra have reportedly been detained in Pakistan for around five years, said the family had approached people in Gandhinagar and Surat seeking help.
“We appeal to the Government of India to try to get our people in Pakistan released. Bring our people back to us. We would be grateful,” she said.
Another family member, Bhavna Solanki of Lerka village in Gir Somnath district’s Una taluka, said her husband Mahesh Solanki, 24, had been in a Pakistani jail since 2021.
She said she learnt about his arrest after their fishing boat failed to return. With two children and a bedridden father-in-law to support, Solanki now works as a daily-wage labourer, earning Rs 350 a day.
“I do not even know where he is in the world. We do not know whether he is alive or not,” she said, adding that she had not spoken to her husband or received any communication from him for years.
Solanki said she and other affected families had met Gujarat leaders, including Jitu Vaghani, Parshotam Solanki and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, who assured them that the matter would be taken up with the concerned authorities and the High Commission.
Desai said the current diplomatic situation between India and Pakistan had further complicated the process, with both countries lacking High Commissioners in each other’s capitals and diplomatic staff having been substantially reduced.
Appeal for humanitarian approach
The joint letter said fishermen on both sides continued to suffer similar hardships and also raised concerns over deaths in custody. The organisations claimed that an estimated four to five Indian fishermen die in Pakistani prisons every year and that an Indian fisherperson died by suicide in custody in March last year.
The groups have called for the immediate release and repatriation of all fishermen who have completed their sentences and whose nationality has been verified, strict implementation of the 2008 Consular Access Agreement, accountability for continued detention after the stipulated conditions have been met and mechanisms to prevent such delays.
They also cited the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which both India and Pakistan are parties, arguing that prolonged detention after completion of a sentence and confirmation of nationality raises concerns over arbitrary deprivation of liberty.
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