43 Pakistani prisoners repatriated

Wagah, June 30 (UNI) The Indian authorities today repatriated 43 Pakistani civil prisoners, including two women and 11 fishermen to their homeland through this joint border road check post.

The prisoners were handed over to the Pakistan Rangers by the Border Security Force (BSF) authorities after signing the repatriation papers. The prisoners were freed after completion of their jail sentences ranging from two to five years in different jails of India.

While 12 of the repatriated Pakistani nationals were brought to the check post from the Amritsar Central Jail, 15 were transported from the Jammu central jail. Eleven were fishermen who were brought here from jails in Gujarat, two each were brought from prisons in West Bengal and Rajasthan and one was from Madhya Pradesh.

A majority of the prisoners were those who had inadvertently strayed into Indian territory and were later arrested by the BSF or other security agencies. The fishermen were arrested by the Indian Coast Guards after they had strayed into Indians waters off the Rann of Kutch.

Amongst the two women was Mumtaz Begum from Karachi who after a quarrel with her father in Karachi had fled home and crossed over into India through the Punjab border. She was arrested by the BSF and sentenced to two years imprisonment at Amritsar Central Jail.

The other woman was Mumtaz of Lahore who had come to India on the Samjautha Express on valid travel documents. However she overstayed in India and was arrested in Kolkatta and was sentenced to two years imprisonment.

Meanwhile according to BSF sources, the Pakistan government will repatriate 50 Indian civil prisoners through the check post on Monday.

UNI