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Pakistan to free 31 Indian prisoners

Islamabad, July 26
Pakistan today announced its decision to release 31 Indian prisoners held in its jails for illegally entering its north-west frontier Baluchistan province.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Riaz Mohammad Khan told reporters here that the prisoners believed to be members of the International Bhai Yadgar Darasi Society would be released as soon as the Indian Government furnished travel documents and completed other formalities.

They were believed to have been arrested when they landed in Baluchistan by air without visa permits. This is the second lot of releases announced by Pakistan after India extended invitation to President Pervez Musharraf to visit New Delhi in May this year.

Mr Khan said Indian diplomats had already visited the 31 prisoners on May 30 this year after Pakistan permitted them to provide counselor services to the jailed Indians.

He, however, made no mention about any Indian PoWs of the 1971 war, whom the Indian Government believes to be languishing in Pakistani jails. PTI

India hails decision on prisoners
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 26
India today described the release of 31 Indian civilian prisoners from Quetta jail in Pakistan as “a step further” while adding it was awaiting a positive and an early response from Islamabad to its proposals related to the opening of additional border checkposts in Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir and confidence-building measures.

In response to questions, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Mrs Nirupma Rao, said: “we announced a series of confidence-building measures early this month and we continue to hope that Pakistan will respond.”

Asked about the status of Indian proposals announced at the initiative of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the spokesperson said: “Those proposals remain on table and response from Pakistan is awaited”.

Meanwhile, we are going ahead with the necessary arrangements for facilitating people-to-people contact between India and Pakistan, Mrs Rao said.