Pak to release 99 Indian prisoners on May 24, says Rehman
21 May, 2008
ISLAMABAD: As a goodwill gesture on arrival of Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee here, Pakistan has announced that it would release 99 Indian prisoners languishing in Pakistani Jails on May 24. In a handout issued here on Tuesday from Interior ministry, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik said that Pakistan would release 99 Indian prisoners, a majority of them being fishermen who were detained for trespassing the country’s territorial waters. Rehman Malik hoped that the goodwill gesture shown by Pakistan would yield positive result and make Pak-India peace process a success. Indian nationalist Sarbajit Singh, who is facing death sentence for his involvement in four bomb blasts in Pakistan in 1990, is not among the 96 prisoners to be released on May 24, he said. Indian has already apprised Pakistan in written about the identification of Indian prisoners being kept in Pakistani Jails, he said. It is merit mentioning here that the Indian fishermen were arrested by Pakistani maritime security agency for entering the country’s territorial waters during last three years. All the detained Indian nationalists in Pakistani jails have been identified. On the other hand, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehaman Malik has denied report about release of Taliban leader and Former Afghan Defence for recovery of Kidnapped Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Tariq Aziz-u-Din. Taliban leader and Former Afghan Defence Minister Maulana Ubaid Ullah has not been freed to secure release of Tariq Aziz-u-Din and he is still under the government custody. He also denied holding talks with the abductors for recovery of the kidnapped ambassador by saying that his release was ensured followed by security forces operation. End.
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