ISLAMABAD: Pakistan released 30 Indian prisoners from jail as a humanitarian gesture and handed them over to the Indian authorities, on Monday, at Wagah Border near Lahore.
“The Government of Pakistan has decided to release 30 Indian prisoners, including 27 fishermen. This is a humanitarian gesture to mark Pakistan’s Independence Day on Aug. 14,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Pakistan maintains a “consistent policy of not politicizing humanitarian issues,” added the foreign ministry.
“It is our hope that the Indian side will also reciprocate in a similar manner,” the statement said.
Pakistan and India frequently arrest fishermen as there is no clear demarcation of the maritime border in the Arabian Sea and most of the fishermen do not have boats equipped with the technology to know their precise location.
Pakistan releases 30 Indian prisoners in Independence Day spirit
Pakistan releases 30 Indian prisoners in Independence Day spirit
- The prisoners, including 27 fishermen, were released as a humanitarian gesture to mark Pakistan’s Independence Day on Aug. 14
- Pakistan and India frequently arrest fishermen as there is no clear demarcation of the maritime border in the Arabian Sea
Security forces kill four militants in Pakistan’s volatile southwest, military says
- Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency
- The Balochistan government has recently established a threat assessment center to strengthen early warning, prevent ‘terrorism’ incidents
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces gunned down four militants in an intelligence-based operation in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Tuesday.
The operation was conducted in Balochistan’s Kalat district on reports about the presence of militants, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
The “Indian-sponsored militants” were killed in an exchange of fire during the operation, while weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the deceased, who remained actively involved in numerous militant activities.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored terrorist found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the statement.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency involving Baloch separatist groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
Pakistan accuses India of supporting these separatist militant groups and describes them as “Fitna Al-Hindustan.” New Delhi denies the allegation.
The government in Balochistan has also established a state-of-the-art threat assessment center to strengthen early warning and prevention against “terrorism” incidents, a senior official said this week.
“Information that was once scattered is now shared and acted upon in time, allowing the state to move from reacting after incidents to preventing them before they occur,” Balochistan Additional Chief Secretary Hamza Shafqaat wrote on X.
The development follows a steep rise in militancy-related deaths in Pakistan in 2025. According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) last month, combat-related deaths in 2025 rose 73 percent to 3,387.
These included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees, the think tank said.
