Goodwill gesture: 163 Indian prisoners freed from Karachi jail

KARACHI: In a gesture of goodwill, Pakistani prison authorities on Sunday released 163 Indian nationals imprisoned at the Landhi jail in Karachi.

An 11-year-old boy was also among those released today by Pakistani authorities.

The release comes weeks after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Ufa and agreed to restart a stalled peace dialogue process between the two neighbouring countries.

Among the steps agreed by both premiers during the meeting on July 10 was a decision on the release of fishermen in each other's custody along with boats within a period of fifteen days.

Marine forces of the neighbouring countries frequently arrest each other’s fishermen for allegedly violating the poorly-defined maritime border in the Arabian Sea.