ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India on Monday exchanged lists of prisoners in each other’s jails, the foreign office said, with Islamabad saying 38 defense personnel missing since the wars of 1965 and 1971 were believed to be in New Delhi’s custody.
Pakistan and India exchange such lists through diplomatic channels on Jan 1 and July 1 each year in pursuance of the Consular Access Agreement of 2008.
“Pakistan handed over a list of 254 Indian or believed-to-be-Indian civilian prisoners and fishermen in Pakistani jails. India shared a list of 452 Pakistani or believed-to-be-Pakistani civilian prisoners and fishermen in Indian jails,” the foreign office said.
“A list of 38 missing Pakistani defense personnel, believed to be in India’s custody since the wars of 1965 and 1971, was also handed over by Pakistan.”
The government has called for the immediate release and repatriation of all Pakistani prisoners who had completed their sentences in India.
“A request for special consular access to various believed-to-be-Pakistani prisoners, including the physically- and mentally challenged prisoners, has been made and for expeditious confirmation of their national status,” the foreign office said.
“The government of Pakistan has also urged India to ensure safety, security, and well-being of all Pakistani or believed-to-be-Pakistani prisoners, awaiting their release and repatriation.”
The repatriation of 62 Pakistani prisoners in 2023, and four in the current year, has also so far been secured, the foreign office added.
The Indo-Pakistani war of 1965, also known as the second India–Pakistan war, was an armed conflict between Pakistan and India that took place from August 1965 to September 1965. Hostilities ended after a ceasefire was declared through UNSC Resolution 211 following diplomatic intervention by the Soviet Union and the United States, and the subsequent issuance of the Tashkent Declaration.
The war of 1971, also known as the third India-Pakistan war, was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that ended with the fall of Dhaka and the creation of Bangladesh.
