By IANS
Amritsar : Pakistani authorities Monday released 134 Indians, most of them fishermen from Gujarat, at the Wagah joint border check post, while India will reciprocate by releasing 24 Pakistani prisoners Tuesday – as both countries gear up to celebrate their respective independence days.
It was a freedom of a different kind for the 134 Indians as they were released by the Pakistani authorities at Wagah, 30 km from here.
After completion of the cumbersome formalities on both sides of the border, all the Indians who crossed over heaved a sigh of relief at being back in the country.
“This is a real homecoming for me. I am thankful to the almighty that I have been released. But there are several other Indians still languishing in Pakistani jails,” Tarsem Singh of Punjab’s Gurdaspur district said on his return. He shouted the Sikh war cry “Bole so nihal, Sat Sri Akal” on entering India.
Those released Monday included nearly 100 fishermen from Gujarat and some people from Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan. They were caught after having inadvertently crossed into Pakistan along the international border.
The decision to release prisoners was taken by both countries last month.
Most of them spent a few months to five years in Pakistani jails. The fishermen were brought to Wagah from Karachi jail where they were lodged after being caught fishing in Pakistan’s waters.
“Life was hell for us in Pakistan. At one time we thought that we would never return home. God has been kind to us,” said Santokh Singh of Ajnala town near the India-Pakistan border.