Islamabad- Pakistani authorities released 59 Indian fishermen today as a goodwill gesture ahead of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to New Delhi.
The decision made just a day when Nawaz Sharif to attend swearing-in ceremony of Bharatiya Janata Party's prime minister-designate Narendra Modi on Monday. An official at Karachi’s Landi jail, where Indian fishermen are lodged, said prison authorities have received orders from Islamabad to release 59 fishermen as a goodwill gesture. The fishermen will be released and transported to the Wagah border in Lahore where they will be handed over to the Indian authorities on Monday. Indian fishermen are routinely arrested and their boats are seized by the maritime security forces when they trespass territorial waters jurisdictions.