By Xinhua
Islamabad : Pakistan Wednesday called on India to release Pakistani nationals who have completed their jail term.
Speaking at a press conference, Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier (retd) Javed Iqbal Cheema said, “A large number of Pakistani civilian prisoners who have completed their sentences and the Pakistani government has confirmed their national status are still languishing in Indian jails.”
He said that the Pakistani interior ministry had confirmed the national status of 266 civilian prisoners and travel documents of 157 civilian prisoners had been sent to the Indian authorities.
Cheema urged the Indian government to expedite the process of repatriation of civilian prisoners.
He said during the last five years Pakistan has released 2,824 Indians including 265 civilian prisoners and 2,559 fishermen. On the contrary, he claimed, India has released only 832 Pakistanis including 384 civilian prisoners and 458 fishermen.
About the recently held meeting of the Joint Anti Terrorism Mechanism between Pakistan and India, Cheema said that the two sides agreed to continue working together to exchange information, identify needed measures and assist in investigations into terrorist activities.