- Pakistan has released another 100 Indian fishermen as a goodwill gesture amidst tensions between the two countries after the Pulwama terror attack.The fishermen released were part of the second batch of 360 Indian prisoners Pakistan had announced to set free in four phases this month.
- Pakistan and India frequently arrest fishermen as there is no clear demarcation of the maritime border in the Arabian Sea.Further,these
fishermen do not have boats equipped with the technology to know their precise location. - Owing to lengthy and slow bureaucratic and legal procedures,the fishermen usually remain in jail for several months and sometimes years.
- According to experts,Joint Judicial Committee on Prisoners must be revived,as it is stalled at present as Pakistan needs to nominate four retired judges for the committee,which hasn’t met since October 2013.
- The Indo-Pak Joint Judicial Committee is composed of eight retired judges – four each from India and Pakistan.They are charged with investigating the situation of civilians imprisoned in the jails of the other nation and to obtain and facilitate their release,especially that of fishermen imprisoned for straying across territorial waters.
