87 freed Indians to return from Pakistan today

Lahore/New Delhi: The 87 Indians, mostly fishermen who were freed by Pakistan on Sunday, will return home on Tuesday after the issuance of travel documents by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

Earlier, a Pakistan Rangers official told reporters that it has handed over the 87 Indian nationals who were released from a Karachi jail after over two years of detention.

 

However, Indian officials in New Delhi said the intimation about their release was given at a very short notice and though it was a case of "verified nationality" they need to be given documents to cross over to India.

Meanwhile, the Rangers also maintained that since the official who was to "debrief and record their (Indians) statements" was not present at the Wagah Border, the handing over will happen on Tuesday.

The released Indians have been stranded at Wagah Border for hours due to a lack of coordination between the Pakistan Rangers and the Foreign Ministry.

The Indian nationals were freed from the Landhi Jail in Karachi on Sunday. They arrived in Lahore by a train last morning.

"After releasing 87 Indians, we now have a total of 457 more (Indians) in the prison, and most of them are fishermen arrested for territorial violation," Jail's deputy superintendent Shakir Shah said.