A PHOTOGRAPH carried in yesterday’s edition of this paper showed Indian fishermen smiling as they stepped into a Karachi train en route to the Wagah border in Punjab — perhaps a rare moment of joy in a lifetime marked by hardship. They were part of the first batch of 100 fishermen that are to be released as a goodwill gesture by the Pakistani government. Hundreds more are expected to be released this month, according to a government spokesperson. Fishermen from both sides of the border are largely poor and illiterate and accidentally enter the ‘enemy’s’ territory in their search for sustenance, as there is no clear line distinguishing the border in the water. They are whisked away by coastal guards and end up languishing in the jails of a hostile country. Even when they are released, largely thanks to the efforts of non-government organisations, their confiscated boats — their source of livelihood and a large investment for them — are never returned. Earlier this year, India handed a list of 347 Pakistani prisoners trapped in Indian jails to the Pakistan High Commission, as a reciprocal gesture to Pakistan handing over of a list of 483 Indian fishermen to the Indian High Commission. The lists included minors as well. A release or swap of prisoners was expected following the move. But all hopes were dashed as tensions rose between the two countries, following the Pulwama attack and subsequent cross-LoC tensions.

Most disturbingly, the body of an elderly Pakistani fisherman beaten to death by jail authorities in India was returned last week. Several vital organs — his eyes, brain and kidneys — were missing. Similarly, when the body of another Pakistani prisoner stoned to death by fellow inmates in an India jail was returned, he was missing his heart, lungs, stomach and a portion of his brain. It is time for India to follow the Pakistani government’s goodwill gesture and release Pakistani fishermen with dignity — alive — on humanitarian grounds, if nothing else.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2019